BX8495.S87H64  1830 

HoUand,  John,  1794-1872. 

Memoirs  of  the  life  and  ministry  of  the  Re^ 

John  Summerlield,  A.M.  :  lale  a  preacher : 

connexion  with  the  Metiiodist  Episcopal  C 

America  / 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 
in  2014 


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f 


MEMOIRS 

OF 

THE  LIFE  AND  MINISTRY 

FTHE 

REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD,  A.  M. 

LATE  A  FREACBER  IN  CONNEXION  WITH  THE  METHODIST 
EPISCOPAI.  CHtlRCH  IN  AMERICA. 

/ 

BY  JOHN  HOLLAND. 

WITH  AN 

INTRODUCTORY  LETTER 

BY  JAMES  MONTGOMERY. 

"  The  life  of  my  much  esteemed  friend,  the  late  Rev.  John  Summerfield,  ia  a  suWecf  u, 
which,  according  to  my  judgement,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  much  interested."  Bishop 
M'Kendrte. 

"  Summerfield  was  a  meet  devoted  and  eloquent  man."   Dr.  Raffles. 
"  A  fervent,  fearleee,  eelfaacrificing  preacher,  the  delight  of  wondering,  weepiof,  and 
admiring  audiences,  wherever  he  went.''  Montgomtry. 


THIRD  EDITION. 

NEW  YORK. 

PRINTED  FOR  JONATHAN  LEAVITT,  NO.  182  BROADWAY. 

BOSTON : 

CROCKER  &  BREWSTER,  47  WASHINGTON  STREET, 

BT  WILLIAM  A.  MERCEIN,  NO.  93  GOID-STREET.  N.  Y. 

(  General  Agent  fw  the  Work.) 

1830. 


Southern  District  of  New-York,  se. 

Be  it  remembered,  That  on  the  29th  dajr  of  May,  A.  D.  1829,  in  the 
fifty -third  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Jambs 
Blackstock,  of  the  said  District,  hath  deposited  in  this  oflBce  the  title  of 
a  book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  proprietor,  in  the  words  following, 
to  wit :  — 

"  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Ministry  of  the  Rev.  John  Summer- 
field,  A.  M.  late  a  preacher  in  connexion  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  in  America.  By  John  Holland.  With  an  introductory  letter,  by 
James  Montgomery.  '  The  life  of  my  much  esteemed  friend,  the  late  Rev. 
John  Summerfield,  is  a  subject  in  which,  according  to  my  judgement,  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  much  interested.'  Bish^  M'Kendree. — 'Sum- 
merfield was  a  most  devoted  and  eloquent  man.'  Dr.  Raffles. — '  A  fer- 
vent, fearless,  self-sacrificing  preacher,  the  delight  of  wondering,  weeping, 
and  admiring  audiences,  wherever  he  went.'  Montgomery." 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled,  "  An 
Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps, 
Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during 
the  time  therein  mentioned."  And  also  to  an  act,  entitled,  "  An  Act,  sup- 
plementary to  an  Act,  entitled,  an  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning, 
by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and 
proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned,  and  ex- 
tending the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving,  and  etch- 
ing historical  and  other  prints." 

^  FRED.  J.  BETTS, 

Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


PREFACE. 


There  is  no  species  of  religious  composition  which  forms 
a  more  interesting  hne  of  contact  between  the  church  and 
the  world,  than  judicious  memoirs  of  departed  saints.  It 
is  generally,  therefore,  no  less  a  pious  duty  than  a  sacred 
pleasure,  on  the  part  of  members  of  a  christian  commvmi- 
ty,  to  collect  and  pubhsh  the  reminiscences  of  those  holy 
men  who  have  hved  and  died  in  the  faith  of  the  gospel. 

The  memorials  of  such  persons  are,  when  compiled 
with  prudence  and  fidehty,  generally  well  calculated  to  il- 
lustrate the  important  and  interesting  truth,  that,  whUe  on 
the  one  hand,  the  exercise  of  a  true  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
produces  uniformly  the  same  results— so  far  as  that  the 
grand  principles  of  every  professor's  hfe  and  testimony  may 
be  tried  by  the  express  rules  of  the  word  of  God ;  on  the 
other  hand,  they  shew  in  their  subordinate  phenomena, 
how  true  is  the  intimation  of  the  same  scriptural  authority, 
that  the  same  spirit  which  is  the  hfe  of  all  chr  istians  alike, 
operates  nevertheless  with  great  diversity  of  gifts  in  each. 


4  PREFACE. 

Whether  the  interesting  individual,  whose  story  is  nar- 
rated in  the  ensuing  pages,  should  be  regarded  as  merely  a 
distinguished  ornament  in  a  class  of  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel with  which  our  age  has  been  pecuharly  favoured,  or 
whether,  to  a  certain  extent,  he  ought  not  rather  to  be  con- 
sidered sui  generis,  are  questions  which,  if  important  at 
all,  will  most  likely  be  satisfactorily  answered  in  the  pro- 
gress of  this  work.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  that 
talents,  which  procured  for  their  possessor  such  distinction 
in  England,  Ireland,  France,  and  especially  in  America, 
must  have  been,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  of  no  ordinary 
description :  and  when  it  is  recollected  that  these  talents 
were  aU  consecrated  and  exercised  in  the  noblest  of  all 
services — the  services  of  the  Redeemer,  by  one,  whose 
praise  was  in  aU  the  churches  where  his  name  was  known ; 
a  spirit  of  laudable  curiosity  is  excited,  even  among  those 
who  never  saw  him,  to  know  something  of  the.personal 
history  of  such  an  individual ; — while  those  who  have 
known  him  face  to  face  in  the  flesh,  and  can  testify  of  his 
holy  life  and  conversation,  are  justly  loath  to  suffer  so  vir- 
tuous an  example  of  christian  excellence  to  pass  away, 
without  some  fitting  memorial. 

It  is  highly  creditable  to  the  relatives  of  the  late  Mr. 
Summerfield,  that  they  should  have  taken  such  pains  in 
collecting  the  requisite  materials  for  a  biographical  account. 


PREFACE.  5 

Indeed,  so  ample,  consecutive,  and  satisfactory  were  the 
docmnents  accumulated  with  reference  to  this  object,  that 
with  the  aid  of  such  voluminous  and  authentic  vouchers, 
it  became  a  question  of  comparatively  Uttle  importance 
ichere  the  work  should  be  written.  The  competency  of  the 
individual  who  might  happen  to  be  entrusted  with  the 
execution  of  this  design,  was  confessedly  a  consideration  of 
greater  importance.  There  is  therefore  much  justness  in 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter  on  this  subject,  which 
was  addressed  by  Bishop  M'Kendree  to  Mr.  Blackstock  at 
New -York; — the  bishop,  it  is  right  to  add,  was  in  favour  of 
an  American  biographer : — 

"Baltimore,  July  5,  1826. 

"Dear  Sir, 

"  In  comphance  with  your  request  relative  to  the  Life 
of  your  brother-in-law,  and  my  much  esteemed  friend, 
the  late  Rev.  Jolin  Summerfield  I  would  say,  it  is  a  sub- 
ject in  which,  according  to  my  judgement,  the  church  of 
Christ  is  much  interested  ;  and  that  it  is  very  desirable 
that  his  true  character  should  be  faithfully  delineated  in 
his  Life.  You  have  in  possession,  most  of  the  materials 
for  this  valuable  work,  and  it  is  with  you  to  select  a  biog- 
rapher, and  have  liis  hfe  written ;  and  wliile  his  beloved 
relatives  may  derive  pecuniary  benefit  therefrom,  thou- 
sands of  liis  christian  friends,  in  common  with  his  relations, 


8  PREFACE. 

will  long  enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  example,  as  a  christian 
and  a  minister. 

"  But  such  are  the  pecuUarities  of  Ms  character,  that 
very  much  depends  on  the  choice  of  his  biographer.  Mr. 
Summerfield  was  bom  in  England,  converted  and  com- 
menced his  ministerial  career  in  Ireland,  and  finished  his 
exalted  course  in  America. 

"  His  literary  quaUfications,  connected  with  his  know- 
ledge of  divinity,  and  attahiments  in  experimental  rehgion, 
laised  him  above  the  character  of  ordinary  ministers. 

"His  sensibihty  was  refined,  his  manners  chaste,  his 
performances  pohshed  with  graces  peculiar  to  himself 

"  To  dehneate  the  character  of  such  a  minister,  the  wri- 
ter of  his  life  should  not  only  possess  suitable  quahfications 
as  an  author,  but  he  should  be  of  the  same  religious  senti- 
ments ;  and  be  able,  in  some  good  degi'ee,  to  accompany  him 
in  his  researches  and  christian  experience.  He  should  be 
intimately  acquainted  with  him  in  his  social  and  private 
actions — his  writings,  his  views,  and  his  situation.  He 
should  be  a  sympathizing  friend,  as  well  as  a  discriminating 
judge.  Such  friends,  Mr.  Summerfield  no  doubt  had,  in 
England,  Ireland,  and  America." 


PREFACE.  1 

Having  before  me,  and  on  such  high  authority,  the  Ust 
of  rare  requirements  just  enumerated,  it  may  well  be  ex- 
pected, either  that  I  should  assiune  their  possession,  or  give 
some  other  reason  why  I  appear  in  my  present  character. 

Four  years  having  nearly  elapsed  since  the  death  of 
ftli-.  Summerfield,  and  the  execution  of  a  Memoir-  having 
been  so  long  delayed  by  providential  cucumstances,  a  com- 
munication through  the  Rev.  Doctor  Townley,  of  London, 
the  origmaUy  anticipated  biographer,  was  made  to  my  ex- 
cellent friend,  Mi-.  Montgomery,  of  Sheffield ;  a  gentleman 
ahnost  as  generally  known  and  esteemed,  wherever  the  Eng- 
lish language  is  spoken,  as  certainly  well  qualified  to  have 
undertaken  this  work.  Toward  the  project  itself,  he  was 
well  enough  affected,  as  offering  an  appropriate  exercise  for 
that  pecuhar  combination  of  talent  and  piety  by  which  he 
is  so  justly  characterized.  Other  pressing  engagements, 
however,  compelling  Mr.  Montgomery  to  decline  the  task, 
he,  voluntarily,  indeed,  without  my  knowledge,  at  the 
time,  recormnended  me  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  in 
such  a  manner,  as  to  secure  theii-  confidence,  by  making 
himself,  in  some  sort,  responsible  for  a  satisfactory  result. 

Under  these  cucumstances,  it  became  my  duty  to  com- 
ply \vith  the  proposals  ;  and  enjoying,  as  I  have  long  had 
the  happiness  to  do,  the  most  unreserved  intimacy  with 


8  PREFACE. 

the  beloved  poet  ..abovenamed,  the  papers  were  not  only 
transmitted  through  liis  hands  to  my  own,  but  his  ingenu- 
ous opinions  upon  their  contents  so  far  famiharly  commu- 
nicated, as  very  greatly  to  facihtate  my  progress,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  increase  my  confidence  of  success  in  the 
composition  of  this  work.  The  Memok  being  completed, 
I  placed  the  MS.  in  Mr.  Montgomery's  hands,  accompanied 
with  the  following  note  : — 

«  Sheffield  Park,  March  20th,  1829. 

Dear  Sir, 

"  Having  xmdertaken,  at  your  instance,  to  write  this 
Life  of  Summerfield,  and  as  such  recommendation  has,  in 
some  sort,  committed  your  character  in  my  success  or 
failure,  I  feel  it  no  less  a  bounden  duty  than  a  high  plea- 
sure to  submit  to  your  perusal  the  accompanying  MS.  As 
the  papers  out  of  which  the  authorities  and  illustrations  of 
this  piece  of  biography  have  been  mainly  drawn,  passed 
through  your  hands,  I  should  undoubtedly  regard  it  as  a 
great  satisfaction  to  be  allowed  to  identify  my  declaration 
with  your  testimony,  that  the  materials  alluded  to  have 
been  legitimately,  would  I  might  add,  fully  and  judicious- 
ly, appropriated.  Ifi  thus  seeking  the  expression  of  your 
candid  judgement,  I  confess  that  I  am  much  less  soUcitous 
of  imphcating  your  generous  approbation  of  a  work, 
which  must,  after  all,  stand  or  fall,  according  to  its  intrin- 


PREFACE.  9 

sic  value,  than  I  am  ambitious  of  accompanying  these 
pages  to  America,  with  some  recognition  on  your  part,  of 
the  existence  of  that  friendship,  the  enjoyment  of  which 
I  must  ever  regard  as  the  highest  earthly  felicity  of  my 
life. 

"  I  remain,  dear  sir,  yours,  very  affectionately, 
"JOHN  HOLLAND." 

.  In  a  few  days  afterwards,  I  received  from  Mi'.  Mont- 
gomery's own  hand,  the  manuscript,  and  enclosed  there- 
with, the  following  gratifying  letter,  which  I  am  allowed 
to  publish,  and  which  might,  perhaps,  of  itself,  have  formed 
the  best  and  only  necessary  preface  to  these  Memoirs. 

"  To  Mr.  John  Holland. 
"  Dear  Friend, 
"  When  I  named  you  to  the  relatives  of  the  late  Rev. 
John  Summerfield,  as  a  proper  person  to  prepare  a  memoir 
of  that  minister  extraordinary  of  the  gospel,  I  was  per- 
fectly aware  of  the  responsibility  which  I  thereby  incurred  ; 
but  I  was  also  so  well  satisfied  with  respect  to  your  quaU- 
fications,  that  1  gladly  trusted  my  credit  on  your  perform- 
ance of  the  task.  I  now  thank  you  sincerely  for  having, 
most  promptly  and  effectually,  redeemed  the  pledge  which 
I  laid  down  for  you.    Without  binding  myself  to  subscribe 

implicitly  to  every  sentiment,  or  to  approve  of  every  form 
2 


10  PREFACE. 

of  expression  in  it,  I  can  say,  after  an  attentive  pemsal  of 
the  manuscript,  that  according  to  my  best  judgement,  you 
have  done  justice  to  the  subject,  honour  to  yourself,  and 
service  to  the  Church  on  earth,  by  presenting  one  trophy 
more  of  the  power  of  the  rehgion  of  Jesus — out  of  weak- 
ness to  perfect  strength,  and  by  mstmments  such  as  God 
alone  could  liiake,  and  such  as  He  alone  would  use,  to  work 
miracles  of  mercy  in  converting  sinners  from  the  error  of 
their  ways,  saving  souls  from  death,  and  covering  a  mul- 
titude of  sins. 

"  You  know,  that  before  I  put  the  multifarious  materials 
for  the  intended  work  into  your  hands,  I  had  diligently  ex- 
amined the  whole,  both  for  my  own  satisfaction,  and  that 
I  might  be  prepared  lo  afford  you  any  counsel  or  assistance 
in  my  power,  which  you  might  require,  in  the  prosecution 
of  your  interesting  but  by  no  means  easy  labours.  I  con- 
fess now,  that,  while  my  willing  persuasion  of  the  ardent 
piety,  the  remarkable  gifts,  and  the  amazing  influence  of 
the  preaching  of  this  young  apostle  upon  hearers  of  all 
classes,  was  abundantly  confirmed  as  I  proceeded, — my 
sense  of  the  difficulty  of  exhibiting  a  portrait  of  the  de- 
ceased, nearly  corresponding  with  the  recollections  of  the 
living  minister,  in  the  hearts  of  affectionate  kindred  and 
friends,  but  especially  of  giving  to  those  who  knew  him 
not.  ail  idea  which  should  justify,  in  their  esteem,  the 


PREFACE.  1 1 

praises  that  have  been  lavished  upon  him, — my  sense  of 
the  difficulty  of  doing  this  was  greatly  increased  as  I  went 
along,  and  found  among  his  remains  few  traces  of  lofty 
intellect,  powerful  imagination,  or  touching  pathos ;  such 
as  would  naturally  be  expected  in  the  productions  of  a 
youth  so  early  and  enthusiastically  followed  and  applaud- 
ed. But  the  bulk  of  these,  being  mere  journals  of  daily 
incidents,  often  very  minute, — and  of  heart-experience, 
never  coloured  either  imder  or  above  present  feeling,  the 
whole  intended  for  liis  own  eye  only,  and  noted  down 
under  the  eye  of  his  Master,  as  though  the  nmning  title 
of  his  pages  had  been,  'Thou,  God,  seest  me,' — the  absence 
of  aH  curious  and  elaborate  composition,  is  a  test  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  records  themselves,  and  rather  to  the 
credit  than  the  disparagement  of  his  genius. 

'•'  In  his  sermons,  however,  something  of  the  character 
of  elegant  Uteratme  might  be  required,  and  would  be  in 
place  ;  because  the  utter  inartificiaUty  which,  in  his  memo- 
r<dnlia  of  hourly  occurrences,  was  a  merit,  would  have 
been  a  defect  here.  Accordingly  I  went  with  critical 
scrutiny,  through  nearly  two  himdred  sketches  of  these, 
in  his  own  hand-writing  ;  and  I  give  it  as  my  deUberate 
conviction,  that  though  they  were  very  unlike  what  I  had 
anticipated  from  a  fervent,  fearless,  self-sacrificing  preacher, 
the  deUght  of  wondering,  weeping,  and  admirmg  audiences, 


12  PREFACE. 

wherever  he  went, — they  were,  in  one  main  respect,  far 
superior ;  being  calculated  less  for  instant  effect,  than  for 
abiding  useftdness.  Though  but  studies,  they  are  never- 
theless exceedingly  methodical  in  plan ;  and  in  execution, 
they  are  distmguished  chiefly  by  soimd  doctrine,  exact 
judgement,  and  severe  abstinence  from  ornament.  Such 
ornament,  however,  as  does  occur,  is  often  exquisite  ;  and 
from  being  occasionally  interpolated  (as  after  thoughts)  1 
caimot  doubt  that,  in  uttering  these  condensed  com- 
positions at  spontaneous  length,  illustrations  the  most 
lively  and  beautiful  sprang  in  hke  manner  out  of  the  sub- 
ject, when  the  preacher  himself  was  full  to  overflowing; 
yet  filling  the  faster  the  more  he  overflowed. 

"  And  this  was  the  right  kind  of  preparation,  for  one 
who  always  had  toords  at  command,  but  whose  feelings 
commanded  him.  He  came  to  the  pulpit,  with  the  whole 
scheme  of  his  discourse  clearly  and  succinctly  marked 
out  in  his  mind.  Then,  when  he  was  indeed  'in  the 
spirit,' — warmed,  exalted,  and  inspired  with  the  divinity 
of  his  theme,  the  chain  of  premeditated  ideas,  link  by  Unk, 
in  seemingly  extemporaneous  succession,  would  be  develo- 
ped ;  while  every  thought,  emotion,  and  appeal,  would  body 
itself  forth  in  the  most  vivid  and  appropriate  language. 
Then,  truly,  would  his  bow  abide  m  strength,  and  every  shaft 
which  he  sent  fi  om  the  string,— Uke  the  arrow  of  Aceste?, 


PREFACE.  13 

of  old,  would  take  fire  in  its  flight,  shine  through  the 
clouds,  and  vanish  in  the  immensity  of  heaven.  ( Virg. 
."En.  lib.  V.  525—8.) 

"  But  as  the  sabbath  and  the  sanctuary  were  the  day 
and  the  place  of  resurrection,  when  his  closet  skeletons, 
thus  clothed  upon,  became  Uving,  breathing,  speaking 
oracles, — the  retrogression  into  their  original  forms  would 
be  proportionately  to  the  preacher's  disadvantage.  Hearers^ 
who  had  been  rapt  towards  the  third  heaven  in  the  fiery 
chariot  of  his  dehvery,  and  almost  seemed  to  hear  '  things 
which  it  was  not  lawful  for  man  to  utter,' — when  they 
aften^-ards  became  readers  at  home  of  the  few,  faint  out- 
lines, however  symmetrical  and  harmonious,  would  scarcely 
recognise  their  shadowy  resemblance  to  the  glorious  appa- 
ritions which  had  gone  by, — never  to  be  renewed  except 
with  the  presence,  the  eye,  and  the  voice  of  the  preacher 
iiimself.  In  fact,  every  attempt  to  present  on  paper  the 
splendid  effects  of  impassioned  eloquence,  is  like  gathering 
up  dew  drops,  which  appear  jewels  and  pearls  on  the 
grass,  but  rim  to  water  in  the  hand  ;  the  essence  and  the 
elements  remain,  but  the  grace,  the  sparkle,  and  the  form 
are  gone. 

But  Summerfield's  memory  needs  no  monument  of 
his  handywork  to  endear  and  perpetuate  it ;  nor  is  it  any 

B 


14  PREFACE. 

derogation  from  his  talents,  to  say,  that  he  has  left  no 
posthumous  proofs  of  their  power,  to  divide  with  his  Maker 
the  glory  of  what  God  was  pleased  to  do  by  him,  in  the 
faithful  exercise  of  them.  Brief  indeed  was  his  career, 
but  briQiant  and  triumphant.  Like  one  of  the  racers,  in 
that  ancient  game,  wherein  he  who  ran  with  the  greatest 
speed,  carrying  a  blazing  torch  unextinguished  to  the  goal, 
was  crowned  as  victor, — he  so  ran  that  he  soon  obtained 
the  prize ;  and  his  light,  not  extinct  even  in  death,  but 
borne  again  in  your  hand,  my  dear  friend,  along  the  same 
path,  while  you  retrace  the  Lord's  dealings  with  him, 
through  his  swift  and  shining  covirse — shall  be  a  guide,  a 
comfort,  and  an  example  to  thousands,  who  never  witnessed 
its  living  coruscations. 

"  I  do  now,  therefore,  not  less  heartily  recommend  your 
little  volume, — the  more  precious,  because  it  is  a  httle  one, 
— to  the  Christian  pubhc,  as  worthy  of  their  acceptance, 
than  on  the  former  occasion,  I  conscientiously  recommended 
yourself  to  the  esteemed  relatives  of  the  deceased,  as  wor- 
thy to  be  his  biographer. 

"  I  am,  faithfully  and  affectionately, 
your  friend, 

«J.  MONTGOMERY." 

Sheffield,  March  30,  1829. 


MEMOIRS 


OF  THE 

REV.  JOHX  SUMMERFIELD. 


SECTIOJV  I. 

Mr.  Summerfield's  parentage,  birth,  and  education— goes 
to  reside  at  lAverpool — remarkable  dream. 

Although  accounts  of  the  peurentage  of  a  saint  of  the 
most  high,  unless  connected  with  some  very  pecuhar  cir- 
cumstances, axe  generaJly  uninteresting,  yet  it  may  not  be 
improper,  in  the  instance  before  us,  to  record  the  following 
brief  particulars. 

WiUiam  Summerfield,  the  father  of  that  excellent 
minister,  the  particulars  of  whose  life  I  am  about  to  nar- 
rate, was  born  in  Devonshire,  April  12,  1770  ;  his  parents 
soon  afterwards  removed  to  Leeds  in  Yorkshire,  where 
they  had  bom  to  them,  four  other  sons,  and  one  daughter. 
WiUiam,  the  eldest  boy,  was,  at  an  early  period  of  his  life, 


16  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

engaged  as  a  millwright,  at  the  works  of  Sir  Thomas 
Blackett,  of  Bretton  HaU,  near  Wakefield,  Yorkshire. 
Wliile  in  this  situation,  he  became  acquainted  with  Miss 
Ameha  Depledge,  who,  at  the  period  m  question,  hved  in 
the  same  neighbourhood.  In  a  short  time  they  were  mar- 
ried ;  and  resided  thenceforward  about  two  years  near 
Bretton.  They  then  removed  to  Manchester,  where  Mr. 
Summerfield  was  engaged,  during  a  residence  of  about 
four  years,  as  foreman  to  a  considerable  machine  manufac- 
tory in  the  Salford  division  of  that  town. 

Here,  an  event  occurred,  of  infinite  importance  to  him- 
self, and  doubtless,  in  the  issue,  to  many  others,  who  sub- 
sequently came  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence,  which, 
from  the  natvnal  vigour  of  his  mind,  was  far  from  being 
inconsiderable.  He  began  to  attend  the  preaching  of  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists  ;  joined  the  society,  and  in  a  short 
time  experienced  a  scriptural  conversion ;  which  he  attri- 
buted, mediately,  to  impressions  received  under  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Benson,  at  that  time  stationed  in 
Manchester.  This  great  religious  change,  is  said  to  have 
taken  place  when  Mr.  Summerfield  was  about  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  From  that  period,  he  became  a  zealous 
disciple  of  his  divine  Lord  and  Master,  and  continued  to 
evince  the  ardour  and  sincerity  of  his  rehgious  profession 
to  the  end  of  his  Ufe — a  Ufe  which  was  chequered  with 
more  than  an  ordinary  share  of  trials  and  vicissitudes, 
chiefly  arising  from  disappointments,  but  the  minuter 
details  of  which  would  be  here  entirely  out  of  place. 


RET.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


17 


It  may,  however,  be  observed,  without  impropriety,  that 
WUham  Summerfield  was  one  of  those  men,  whose  san- 
guine temperaments,  and  projecting  minds,  are  more  hkely 
to  lead  them  to  engage  in  plausible  speculations,  than  to 
incline  them  to  advance  their  fortunes  by  the  slow  process 
of  uninventive  assiduity.  I^ancashire  was  at  this  time 
exhibiting  the  earUer  effects  of  that  daring  spirit  of  me- 
chanical enterprise,  which  has  almost,  as  it  were  by  the 
power  of  machinery,  transplanted  successful  experimental- 
ists from  the  poverty  of  paupers  into  the  opulence  of 
princes.  Few  men  of  persevering  genius  and  common 
industry,  could  witness  what  was  then  taking  place  around 
them,  without  thinking  that  they  might,  and  perhaps  in- 
deed without  feeling  that  they  ought  to,  attempt  the 
achievement  of  some  such  envied  distinction. 

After  remaining  some  time  with  his  employers  in  Man 
Chester,  WilUam  Summerfield  removed,  with  his  family 
to  Preston,  about  1 797.  Here,  he  commenced  business  a: 
an  engineer  and  ironfounder,  with  every  prospect  of  rism^' 
to  opulence.  He  was  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him,  both  as  a  tradesman,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Metho 
dist  Society  ;  in  connexion  with  which  body  he  now  actec 
as  a  local  preacher  :  he  was,  indeed,  particularly  distin 
guished  for  the  hveliness  of  his  faith,  his  continuing  instant 
in  prayer,  and  an  almost  imexampled  spirit  of  self-denial. 


After  experiencing  various  reverses  of  fortune,  arising, 
partly  from  the  common  casualties  of  business,  and  partly 
b2  3 


18 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


from  being  outwitted  by  partners,  his  affairs,  at  a  time  when 
he  had  reason  to  think  himself  wealthy,  became  deranged  ; 
so  that  on  the  breaking  up  of  an  estabUshment  and  con- 
nexion, upon  which  he  had  reasonably,  but  mistakenly,  re- 
posed his  all,  he  left  Preston,  and  after  residing  about  two 
years  in  Buislem,  Staffordshire,  and  a  sliort  time  in  Liver- 
pool, went  to  Ireland  in  1812,  where  he  successively  filled 
situations  of  trust  in  Dublin  and  Cork.  After  a  few  years, 
he  emigrated,  with  his  family,  to  New- York,  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  where  his  eldest  daughter  had  been 
some  time  settled,  with  her  husband,  Mr.  Blackstock,  a 
respectable  cotton-broker  in  that  city.  In  the  house  of  this 
exemplary  son-in-law,  where  he  had  long  found  a  home  ; 
and  soothed  by  the  affectionate  attention  of  all  his  sur- 
viving childi'en,  he  expired,  the  victim  of  a  Aiolent  dyseiv 
tery,  Sept.  19th,  1825,  aged  55.  As  his  life  had  been 
characterized  by  eminent  religious  profession,  so  his  death 
was  not  only  satisfactory,  but  in  the  estimation  of  his 
friends,  one  of  the  most  triumphant  ever  witnessed.  His 
sufferings,  during  the  last  twelve  hours,  were  exceedingly 
acute  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  these  most  trying  moments,  his 
faith  faltered  not— he  cried  out,  "  I  have  an  unshaken 
confidence."  His  frame  of  mind  for  several  days  before  his 
death,  was  happy  beyond  description — bringing,  in  the 
expressive  phrase  of  his  attendants,  "  heaven  upon  earth  !" 
A  few  nights  previous  to  his  departure,  liis  daughter  Ame- 
lia was  awoke  by  his  talking  aloud  in  his  sleep,  as  with 
his  beloved  son,  John,  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  Be- 
ing interrogated  on  the  subject,  he  repUed,  John  and  he 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


19 


had  "  much  to  do  together."  To  the  foregoing  testimony, 
the  writer  of  these  peiges  has  the  gratification  of  being 
enabled  to  add,  that  when  he  visited  Preston  in  1828,  he 
did  not  converse  with  a  single  individual,  who  did  not  accord 
a  prompt  acknowledgement  of  the  reUgious  character  and 
moral  worth  of  their  former  friend  and  townsman. 

Of  the  personal  accomplislunents,  and  christian  experi- 
ence, of  his  mother,  I  am  unable  to  speak,  beyond  the 
general  fact  that  she  was  a  pious  woman.  She  died  in 
Liverpool,  whither  she  had  removed  for  the  benefit  of  her 
health,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1811  ;  leaving  with  her 
friends  a  gratifjing  assurance  that  in  her  departure  from  this 
Ufe  she  was  gone  to  that  Jesus  whom  her  soul  loved.  Her 
remains  lie  bmied  in  St.  Pavd's  church  yard,  in  that  town. 

WiUiam  and  Ameha  Summerfield  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children ;  five  sons,  and  four  daughters  ; — three  of 
whom  died  in  their  infancy. 

John,  the  subject  of  these  memoirs,  was  bom  in  his 
father's  house,  at  Preston,  in  Lancashire,  January  31st,. 
179S.  Previously  to  the  birth  of  this  child,  his  father  has 
frequently  been  heard  to  say,  that  there  was  nothing  that 
he  desued  more  in  early  life,  than  that  he  should  have  a 
son ;  that  that  son  should  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel ;  and 
that  his  name  should  be  called  John.  And  truly,  as  he 
and  liis  wife,  hke  Zacharias  and  EUsabeth  of  old,  "  were 
both  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the  command- 


20 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


ments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless,"  so  likewise, 
his  prayer  was  heard — a  man-child  was  born ;  and  his 
father,  in  the  spirit  of  the  venerable  priest  of  Jerusalem, 
"  praised  God"  that  he  had  given  him  a  son.  And  it  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  the 
babe,  his  father  solemnly  dedicated  him  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  How  far,  when,  in  after  life,  "he  was  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  he  imitated  his  apostolic  namesake,  in 
"  preaching  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  remission  of 
sins,"  as  he  resembled  him  in  being  dedicated  to  the  Lord 
"  even  from  the  womb,"  the  history  of  his  ministerial  hfe 
must  testify. 

John  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  amiable  child. 
At  five  years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  school,  where  he  had 
not  been  twelve  months,  before  he  was  accounted  the  best 
reader ;  and  his  mistress  was  so  proud  of  him,  that  she 
frequently  pointed  to  him  as  an  example  for  the  other 
children  to  imitate.  He  was  much  caressed  and  compli- 
mented by  strangers  as  well  as  friends ;  and  his  manners 
were  so  pleasing  that  they  always  attracted  attention  : 
yet  he  was  not  in  the  slightest  degree  a  spoiled  child  :  for 
however  much  indulged,  it  appeared  to  have  no  bad  effect 
upon  him.  He  was  so  remarkably  sensitive,  that  he  could 
not  bear  to  see  his  brothers  or  sisters  corrected. 

When  about  six  years  old,  he  was  sent  with  his  sister, 
aged  about  eight,  to  a  pious  Methodist  lady,  who  kept  a 
school  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Blackpool,  about  twenty 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


21 


miles  from  home ;  this  was  the  first  time  they  had  been 
separated  from  their  parents,  and  was  the  occasion  of  much 
distress  to  his  sister  :  but  John,  who  had  not  only  a  happy 
method  of  restraining  his  own  feeUngs,  but  likewise  of 
administering  comfort  to  others,  addressed  her  in  a  style 
rather  of  manly  than  juvenile  consolation.  "  EUen,"  he 
would  say,  when  his  sister  began  to  weep, — "Ellen,  I 
really  am  astonished  at  you ;  you  know  that  our  father 
sent  us  here  for  our  good  ;  but  if  you  fret  and  grieve  so, 
you  will  make  yourself  ill ;  and  then  you  won't  be  able  to 
learn  any  thing.  And  think  how  sorry  my  mother  would 
feel,  and  how  disappointed  she  would  be,  if  she  were  to 
know.  You  ought  to  be  more  of  a  woman ;  besides,  Mrs. 
Campbell  would  be  displeased,  should  she  see  you."  Such 
were  the  reasonings  of  the  child,  whose  engaging  maimers 
made  him  ahnost  the  idol  of  the  family  :  and  when  Mrs. 
C.  was  at  prayer,  he  would  clasp  his  Uttle  hands,  and  de- 
voutly respond  "  Amen  !" 

On  leaving  Mrs.  C,  with  whom  he  had  made  considera- 
ble progress,  he  was  placed  imder  the  care  of  Mr.  Berry,  an 
approved  master  in  Preston :  for  him  he  entertained  a  very 
high  regard,  although  he  was  extremely  rigid.  Mr.  B. 
pronounced  him,  on  entering  the  school,  the  best  giam- 
marian  he  had  ever  met  with,  for  his  years.  Here  he 
held  a  most  respectable  rank  in  the  various  classes ;  though 
it  was  remarked  that  he  hardly  studied  at  all,  during  the 
intervals  of  school  hours.  At  this  period,  he  was  exces 
sively  fond  of  play  ;  indeed,  he  was  so  entirely  devoted  to 


22 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


recreation,  that  from  the  tune  he  left  school,  generally  about 
5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  rarely  opened  his  books, 
imtil  within  about  half  an  hour  of  school-time  in  the 
morning,  when  he  would  begin  to  make  preparation.  His 
manner  of  committing  liis  tasks  to  memory,  in  so  short  a 
time,  was  somewhat  singulax : — he  would  lay  himself 
down  in  the  cradle,  and  with  his  feet  over  the  sides,  would 
set  it  a-going  at  full  swing ;  he  would  then  apply  himself 
to  his  lessons  with  the  greatest  eagerness  ;  after  he  had 
gone  over  them  a  few  times  in  this  way,  he  would  spring 
up,  and  hasten  to  school,  reciting,  as  he  went,  the  tasks  he 
was  expected  to  repeat.  His  mother  would  frequently  tell 
him,  that  she  was  afraid  to  see  or  hear  from  Mr.  Berry,  who 
might  have  a  bad  accoimt  to  give  of  him,  as  he  was  so 
negligent  Vvith  regard  to  his  studies.  The  accounts,  how- 
ever, received  of  him,  were  most  gratifying;  and  his 
teachers  declared,  that  such  was  his  aptitude  for  learning, 
that  he  cost  them  very  Uttle  trouble. 

This  towardness  of  disposition  was  so  satisfactory  to 
his  father,  that  he  was  determined  to  spare  no  expense  in 
giving  him  a  good  education.  With  a  wise  regard  to  the 
value  of  rehgious  instruction  in  connexion  with  scholastic 
discipline,  he  was  sent  to  the  celebrated  seminary  at  Fair- 
field, an  extensive  Moravian  establishment,  about  four 
miles  from  Manchester.  The  master  of  the  school  at  that 
period,  was  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Ramftler,  who  was  likewise  the 
resident  minister  ;  under  this  gentleman,  young  Sunmier- 
field  not  only  made  considerable  progress  in  the  classics. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


23 


and  other  branches  of  education,  but  received  those  rehgious 
impressions,  which  it  is  probable  were  never  wholly  obUte- 
rated  from  hie  conscience.  In  this  school,  too,  he  was 
generally  beloved  ;  and  was  especially  a  favourite  with  the 
Moravian  Bishop  Moore,  then  residing  at  Fairfield.  This 
venerable  prelate  used  to  have  dehght  in  hearing  the  £imia- 
ble  t)T:o  recite  rehgious  pieces  in  prose  and  verse  :  this 
distinction  was  carried  so  far,  that  he  was  even  selected  to 
give  these  recitations  in  the  chapel,  a  practice  which,  as  it 
has  not  been  repeated,  shows,  at  least,  the  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  worthy  superiors  in  that  estab- 
lishment. He  remained  in  this  deUghtful  retreat  nearly 
five  years,  when  he  was  abruptly  taken  away  in  conse- 
quence of  his  father's  misfortunes,  in  December,  1809. 

During  the  vacations  of  Midsummer  and  Christmas,  up 
10  this  period,  when  he  returned  home,  his  company  was 
sought,  and  he  was  caressed  by  the  heads  of  several  of 
the  first  famUies  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Burslem  ;  being 
treated  more  hke  an  equal  than  a  mere  boy,  by  those  of 
his  seniors,  who  held  him  up  as  an  example  for  youth, 
much  older  than  himself,  to  emulate.  His  memory  was 
remarkably  tenacious,  and  this,  in  connexion  with  his 
powers  for  recitation,  before  alluded  to,  rendered  him  a  very 
desirable  companion,  with  his  fund  of  entertaining  pieces, 
grave  as  well  as  humorous. 

The  following  anecdote,  as  it  exhibits  the  fdial  piety, 
and  precocious  talents  of  this  interesting  boy,  may  be  ap- 


24 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


propriately  introduced  here. — In  the  year  1810,  at  the 
time  when  Mr.  Wilham  Summerfield's  embarrassments 
were  extremely  distressing,  and  the  nature  of  which  led 
to  the  emplo)rment  of  John  in  various  ways,  a  thought 
struck  the  intelligent  lad,  that  it  was  possible  for  him  so 
to  redeem  a  portion  of  his  time,  as  to  enable  him  to  open 
a  night  school.  With  him,  even  at  this  early  age,  to  de- 
vise and  to  execute  were  the  same  :  the  attempt  was 
made ;  the  school  was  opened ;  and  many  young  men, 
twice  as  old  as  himself,  presented  themselves,  so  that  he 
had  soon  more  apphcations  than  he  could  receive.  The 
school  was  continued  until  his  removal  to  Liverpool,  when 
he  parted  with  his  pupils,  amid  their  sincere  regrets.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  proceeds  of  this  school 
were  religiously  handed  over  to  his  mother. 

At  this  period,  he  seems  to  have  cherished  that  spark  of 
rehgious  feeling,  and  to  have  maintained  the  distinctness 
of  those  divine  impressions,  of  which  he  had  been  tlie 
subject  at  Fairfield.  It  was,  moreover,  his  practice  to  spend 
much  time  (his  friends  say  "  whole  weeks")  in  retirement, 
for  the  purposes  of  study  and  meditation  ;  exhibiting 
herein,  a  faint  and  juvenile  emulation  of  the  holy  conduct 
of  the  celebrated  non-conformist  divine,  Isaac  Ambrose, 
once  the  minister  of  Preston,  and  whose  custom  it  was, 
once  a  year,  to  retire  into  a  hut,  in  a  neighbouring  w  ood, 
and  there  spend  a  month  in  rehgious  contemplation. 

As  already  stated,  Mrs.  Summerfield  died  in  1811. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  2o 

Jolin,  then  in  his  thirteenth  year,  accompanied  this  beloved 
parent  to  Liverpool,  whither  she  had  gone  for  the  benefit 
of  the  sea  air  ;  and  he  was  the  only  child  that  was  with 
her  during  the  last  four  months  of  her  illness.  The  cu- 
cumstance  of  her  death  pecuharly  impressed  his  mind, 
and  he  often  dwelt  upon  the  subject — especially  in  after 
life,  when  he  hardly  ever  spoke  of  the  glorified  throng  in 
heaven,  without  naming  his  mother.  This  wealthy, 
interesting,  and  thiiving  town,  which  had  afforded  a  grave 
to  his  mother,  now  became  the  residence  of  her  son  ;  and 
here,  before  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  he  filled  the  situation 
of  ck^rk  in  a  mercantile  establishment,  being  principally 
employed  in  managing  a  French  correspondence,  the  prin- 
cipal being  himself  unacquainted  with  the  foreign  lan- 
ffuages.  He  was  an  excellent  book-keeper  and  account- 
ant, and  was  prized  and  retained  in  this  situation  until  the 
failure  of  the  house. 

It  was  about  tliis  tune,  that  young  Suimnerfield  had  a 
remarkable  ^ream,  to  which  he  has  fi-equently  been  known 
to  advert  in  after  life ;  it  is  however  mentioned  here,  not  as 
otherwise  important,  than  as  showing,  with  perhaps  the 
ordinary  exaggeration  arising  from  the  effect  of  sleep,  the 
tenor  and  tendency  of  his  waking  thoughts.  One  night, 
after  he  had  been  some  time  in  bed,  his  sister  was  alarmed 
by  an  uncommon  noise  which  he  made  ;  at  this  time,  he 
was  subject  to  the  cramp ;  but  contrary  to  expectation, 
when  his  sister  entered  his  room,  he  was  fast  asleep,  yet 
appeared  very  restless,  and  his  countenance  was  much 
c  4 


26 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


agitated.  She  awoke  him,  and  inquired  what  was  the 
matter ;  he  repHed,  "  did  I  disturb  you  ?  It  was  not  the 
cramp  :  I'll  tell  you,  Ellen,  all  about  it,  in  the  morning." 
The  next  day,  he  was  very  anxious  to  know  every  parti- 
cular relative  to  the  disturbance  wliich  had  caused  the 
alarm.  "  Ah  !"  said  he,  "  it  was  a  terrifying  dream  ! 
when  I  made  that  noise,  and  exhibited  that^truggle,  I 
thought  Satan  had  laid  hold  upon  me." — Said  he,  "I  found 
a  beaten  track,  in  which  great  numbers  of  persons  were 
walking  ;  I  therefore  resolved  to  mingle  with  the  crowd, 
and  ascertain  the  meaning  of  all  this.  After  some  time, 
I  discovered  what  I  took  to  be  the  termination  of  my  wan- 
derings, yet  I  could  not  see  any  particular  object  of  attrac- 
tion, although  many  appeared  to  be  worshipping  some- 
thing which  I  could  not  perceive  :  however,  on  a  nearer 
approach,  I  found  the  object  of  adoration  to  be  no  other 
than  Satan  himself,  surrounded  by  a  prostrate  multitude. 
I  immediately  looked  rovind,  for  some  way  by  which  I 
might  escape,  determining  that  /  would  not  bend  the  knee  : 
I  at  last  discovered  a  narrow  and  winding  stairway,  the 
ascent  of  which  was  very  high  and  steep,  yet  I  was  re- 
solved to  ascend,  although  I  had  to  pass  by  Satan  to  reach 
the  stairs.  I  mounted  with  great  rapidity  ;  the  windings 
became  more  and  more  difficult,  and  my  course  was  much 
impeded  ;  with  breathless  anxiety,  I  took  one  look  back, 
and  finding  I  was  pursued,  and  almost  within  the  very 
grasp  of  the  enemy,  1  made  one  desperate  effort,  by  whicli 
I  escaped,  and  immediately  awoke." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


27 


No  part  of  his  correspondence  with  liis  family,  or  others, 
at  this  period,  has  been  preserved — at  least,  none  has 
been  forthcoming.  In  the  absence,  however,  of  such  do- 
cumentary evidence  as  his  own  letters,  it  is  certain  that  he 
indulged,  to  the  utmost  of  his  means,  that  thirst  for  infor- 
mation, by  which  he  had  always  been  distingxiished, 
especially  a  taste  for  oratory,  which,  having  been  implanted 
with  his  early  habits,  he  sought  every  opportunity  of 
gratifying,  by  hearing  the  best  speakers,  whether  in  the 
pulpit,  at  the  bar,  or  even  in  popular  assemblies :  amongst 
the  former,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Spencer,  whose  popularity 
was  at  that  time  the  ascendant  attraction  in  Liverpool,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  one  of  the  chief  pulpit  favourites 
of  our  young  aspirant 


28 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTIOIf  II. 

Removal  to  Dublirir— falls  into  dissipated  habits — occasional 
contrition — correspondence  loith  Dr.  Raffles — thinks  of  eU' 
tering  the  ministry  among  the  dissenters — goes  into  business 
'-afresh  irregularities — attends  the  courts  of  law. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1812,  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield  removed,  \vith  Ms  family,  to  Dublin.  On  their 
settlement  in  that  city,  John  evinced  no  disposition  to  pur- 
sue any  kind  of  business  or  profession.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  his  associates,  from  this  time,  until  he 
became  religious  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  were 
generally  persons  from  10  to  20  years  older  than  himself : 
indeed,  he  had  no  companions  in  youth  of  his  own  age  ; 
and  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  features  in  his  charac- 
ter, consisted  in  the.  fluency  and  abihty  with  which  he 
could  converse  on  subjects,  seldom  attended  to  by  one 
of  his  years.  At  15  he  seemed  to  possess  the  experience 
of  a  person  advanced  in  hfe ;  an  uncommon  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  and  the  rare  talent  of  describing  whatever 
he  had  heard,  or  seen,  in  the  most  interesting  manner. 

These  qualities,  with  a  large  fund  of  anecdote,  and  a 
rare  facetiousness,  together  witli  a  disposition  the  most  ac- 
coirunodating,  probably,  however,  conduced  to  his  chief 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


29 


misfortunes.  His  warm  heart,  which  was  truly  formed 
for  friendship,  could  rarely  withstand  the  fervour  of  soUci- 
tation.  So  ready  was  he  to  serve  his  friends,  that  he  would 
frequently,  for  acts  of  kindness  towards  others,  perform 
acts  of  indiscretion  toward  himself,  which  as  frequently 
led  him  into  difficulties. 

His  extreme  sensibility  was  such,  that  a  plaintive  appeal 
was  generally  irresistible  ;  it  would  call  forth  all  his  ener- 
gies ;  and  sometimes  he  has  had  the  mortification  to  dis- 
cover, that  his  kindness  had  been,  at  least,  ill  timed,  and  fre- 
quently, as  just  intimated,  accompanied  by  serious  disad- 
vantage to  himself.  To  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  complaints 
of  the  distressed,  was  quite  out  of  the  question  with  John 
Summerfield ;  if  his  time,  or  his  talents,  were  in  requisi- 
tion, they  were  bestowed  with  an  ardour  bordering  on 
enthusiasm  :  was  pecuniary  assistance  required  1  it  was 
never  withheld,  if  in  his  power  to  communicate.  On  one 
of  these  occasions,  he  was  called  upon  by  a  petitioner  in 
distress  ;  but  alas  !  his  means  were  exhausted  ; — after  a 
moment's  deliberation,  he  left  the  person,  requesting  him 
to  wait  till  his  return :  going  home,  he  found  ihe  silver 
spoons  laid  upon  the  dmner  table ;  these  he  removed,  toge- 
ther with  what  tea  spoons  he  coidd  collect,  presented  the 
whole  to  the  person  in  distress,  whom  he  had  knowTi  when 
in  affluent  circumstances,  as  an  individual  by  whom  his 
father  had  lost  considerable  sums  of  money. 

The  company  with  whom  he  at  this  time  mingled, 
c2 


30 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


caused  him  to  be  much  from  home,  spending  his  time  sit 
the  theatre,  the  billiard  room,  or  the  card  table;  most 
frequently  the  latter.  This  infatuating  species  of  vice 
so  captivated  his  mind,  that  by  practice,  he  became  quite 
an  adept,  and  was  led  on  by  degrees,  to  emulate  the  more 
adventurous  by  playing  a  high  game.  It  may  well  be  con- 
ceived that  these  irregularities  were  sources  of  indescriba- 
ble anguish  to  liis  father  and  family,  who  frequently 
laboured  under  the  most  dreadful  apprehensions,  not 
knowing  where  such  things  might  end. 

Remorse  of  conscience  always  followed  a  season  of  dis- 
sipation :  and  then  his  sufferings  were  almost  beyond  en- 
durance. On  these  occasions,  he  would  remain  closeted 
for  weeks  together,  engaged,  not  only  in  his  studies,  whicli 
were  intense,  but  in  daily  lamenting,  \vith  heart-rending 
fervour,  liis  transgressions ;  seven  times  a  day,  has  he  been 
known  to  prostrate  himself  with  his  face  to  the  ground,  im- 
ploring the  divine  forgiveness  for  his  manifold  sins  !  His 
distress  of  mind,  on  account  of  disobedience  to  liis  parent, 
was  often  almost  more  than  he  could  bear.  It  was  during 
these  lucid  intervals  of  compunction  and  penitence,  that 
his  father's  bruised  hopes  of  ultimately  seeing  his  son  a 
minister  of  the  gospel,  used  to  revive ;  and  had  he  not 
been  a  man  of  uncommonly  strong  faith,  there  were  cu- 
cumstances  existing  at  this  period  abundantly  sufficient  to 
have  disheartened  hun — indeed,  to  have  destroyed  the  con- 
fidence of  most  other  men  :  yet  he  rejnained  firm  in  the 


REV.  JOHN  StTMMERFIELD.  31 

belief  that  his  prayers  would  be  answered  concerning  his 
son. 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  young  Summerfield, 
while  in  Liverpool,  was  an  occasional  attendant  on  the 
ministry  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Spencer.  On  the  publication 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  RafBes's  interestuig  "  Life  of  Spencer," 
a  copy  of  the  work  was  sent,  by  a  friend,  to  our  young 
prodigal  m  Dublin ; — he  read  it  with  great  interest ;  and 
feehng  his  heart  yearn  towards  the  sacred  profession,  and 
experiencing  at  the  same  time  a  strong  desire  to  return  to 
England,  he  resolved  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the 
author,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  admission  into  the  academy 
of  the  Dissenters  at  Hoxton.  Through  the  kindness  of 
Dr.  Raffles,  the  first  letter  on  this  subject,  in  the  autograph 
of  Summerfield,  hes  before  me  : — 

"  Dublin,  Grand  Canal  Dock, 

Hanover  Quay,  Jan.  7,  1814. 

"  Reverend  Sir, 
"I  am  at  length  induced  by  the  repeated  sohcitations 
of  a  few  of  my  more  particular  friends,  to  address  you 
upon  a  subject, which,  of  all  others,  is  the  most  weighty. 

My  name  is  utterly  unknown  to  you,  as  well  as  my 
person  ;  though  I  am  well  acquainted  with  both  these  in 
yourself. 


"  From  my  earliest  infancy,  I  have  had  it  in  contempla- 


32 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


tion  to  become  an  ambassador  for  Christ ;  and  of  late,  this 
has  been  kindled  in  me  to  a  degree,  so  as  not  to  leave  a 
doubt  in  my  mind,  but  that  ni)'  prayers  to  God  to  open  my 
way,  are  now  answering.  The  other  week,  a  friend  sent 
me  your  'Life  of  Spencer,'  from  Liverpool:  and  I  have  read 
it  with  such  deUght,  that  it  has  tended  more  than  any 
thing  to  increase  the  spark  already  kindling.  I  am  but 
18*  years  of  age,  not  yet  quite  accomphshed,  and  my 
youth  would  be  the  chief  hinderance  to  my  resolution 
of  addressing  you,  had  not  my  friends  encouraged  me  to 
write  you  freely,  being  so  perfectly  satisfied  of  your 
christian  temper  and  candour,  that  if  you  gave  me  nothing 
to  hope  in  my  application,  it  would  not  be  taken  amiss. 

"  As  this  is  the  first  communication,  (though  I  trust  it 
may  be  suffered  to  be  continued, — yet  being  uncertain, 
and  the  event  in  embryo,)  I  do  not  write  fuUy,  any  farther 
than  to  say,  that  the  tenets  professed  by  the  church  of 
which  you  are  the  present  supporter  and  guide,  do  most 
coincide  with  my  ideas  and  belief  in  the  revelation  of  God 
by  his  Son. — I  have  had  a  very  liberal  education  ;  having 
been  brought  up  at  Fairfield  academy,  near  Manchester, 
among  that  worthy  people,  the  Moravians  ;  and  my  father, 
having  apparently  intended  me  for  the  church,  spared  no 
expense  to  render  my  education  fit  for  the  purpose.  But 
as  I  cannot  give  my  mmd  to  that  church,  for  many  rea- 


*  Sic  in  oriff.—hnt  it  is  certainly  a  slip  of  the  pen— it  should 
be  16. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


33 


sons,  I  would  be  more  willing  to  list  under  the  banners  of 
your  church ;  though  God  knows,  it  is  in  effect  the  same 
as  theirs,  being  aU  warriors  for  Christ.  I  enclose  this  in  a 
letter  to  my  friends  in  Liverpool,  to  be  forwarded  to  you, 
being  ignorant  of  your  address. 

"  You  will  see  how  to  address  me,  at  the  head  of  this ; 
and  I  would  entreat  your  answer,  if  so  much  of  your  pre- 
cious time  can  be  devoted  to  answer  so  unworthy  a  ser- 
vant ;  but  though  unworthy,  not  the  more  unwelcome. 

"  I  would  wish  to  begin  my  race  early,  run  it  with  joy, 
and  end  it  with  glory. 

"  This  commimication  is  with  my  father's  approbation, 
— a  gentleman  in  moderate  circumstances,  whose  highest 
wish  it  is  to  see  his  son  settled  in  his  course. 

"  Believe  me,  Reverend  Sir, 
*'  yours,  most  respectfully  and  devotedly, 

J.  SUMMERFIELD." 
The  Reverend  Thomas  Raffles,  Liverpool. 

The  following  letter,  apparently  in  reply  to  the  fore- 
going, was  written,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  date,  about 
three  months  after  it — there  had  probably,  however,  been 
an  intermediate  communication  : — 

"  Liverpool,  March  28th,  1814. 
"  Do  not  imagine,  my  dear  sir,  that  because  I  have  not 
5 


34 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


been  so  quick  as  you  might  wish,  and  as  I  have  desired  to 
be,  in  m)^  reply  to  your  communication,  in  which  you 
stated  so  much  at  length  your  feelings  and  your  views, 
that  I  have  forgotten  you,  or  that  I  take  no  interest  in  your 
affairs.  The  fadt  is,  that  1  have  been  Avaiting  for  a  favour- 
able opportunity  of  writuig  you  pretty  much  at  length,  but 
owdng  to  the  extreme  press  of  ofl&cial  business,  I  have  not 
been  able. 

"  You  can  form  no  conception  of  the  labom-s  of  a  Pas- 
tor, who  has  two  thousand  souls  committed  to  liis  care. 
Even  now,  I  steal  half  an  hour  from  rest,  for  the  purpose 
of  comnnming  with  my  friends  ;  and  I  cannot  prevail  upon 
myself  to  retire,  though  exliausted  nature  demands  repose, 
till  I  have,  by  a  few  lines,  reheved  the  anxiety  of  your 
mind. 

"  I  have  been  out  of  town,  mto  "Wales,  which  is  the 
cause  of  my  not  having  answered  yam  letter  tUl  now.  I 
am  very  happy  now  to  find  that  you  have  a  design  to 
visit  Liverpool ;  I  can  talk  to  you  upon  the  interesting  sub- 
ject of  oxix  correspondence,  and  say  more  to  you,  and  hear 
more  from  you,  in  one  hour,  than  could  transpire  in  twenty 
letters. 

"  Have  you  friends  in  Liverpool  ?  I  am  sorry  that  I 
have  no  house  to  invite  you  to.  I  am  but  a  bachelor,  and 
consequently  a  lodger.  I  hope  you  will  come  either  before 
or  after  the  month  of  May,  as  during  that  month  I  expect 


RF.V.  JOHN  SUMMP.RFIELD.  35 

to  be  in  London.  I  should  rather  it  was  after  May,  as  in 
the  ensuing  month,  1  have  no  less  than  three  joumies  to 
make,  by  which,  of  course,  my  time  will  be  very  much 
consumed — besides  much  other  business  which  will  absorb 
my  whole  attention. 

"  I  "should  like,  when  you  are  here,  to  enjoy  much  of  your 
society;  and  this,  at  present,  I  fear  I  should  not  be  able  to 
do.  I  forbear,  in  the  prospect  of  an  interview,  which  your 
letter  promises,  to  enter  now  into  any  further  particulars 
respecting  yoiur  views  of  the  ministry — and  praying  you 
to  maintain  a  spirit  of  self-examination,  watchfulness,  and 
diUgence,  with  best  respects  to  yovir  friends, 
"  yours,  very  faithfully, 

"THOMAS  RAFFLES." 

The  two  foregoing  letters  are  given  entire,  because  they 
constitute  the  material  evidence  of  a  very  interesting  move- 
ment in  the  mind — and  the  soUcitation  for  an  arrangement, 
which,  had  it  taken  place,  might  have  been  of  the  last 
importance  ui  the  hfe  of  Summerfield.  Upon  the  proba- 
ble issue  of  events,  had  the  desire  he  then  felt  been  con- 
summated, it  would  now  be,  at  least,  idle  to  speculate. 
One  question,  however,  naturally  suggests  itself,  and  which 
it  will  be  neither  difficult  nor  improper  to  settle — namely, 
whether  the  negotiations  alluded  to,  were  terminated 
^'oluntarUy  or  othervsnse  on  the  part  of  the  petitioner. 
"Whatever  other  letters  might  be  written  on  this  subject — 
and  others  undoubtedly  there  were — the  two  above  cited 


36 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


are  obviously  the  first  and  the  last  that  passed  between 
the  parties;  and  whether  or  not  the  inteimediate  ones 
contained  any  more  distinct  overtures  from  either  side, 
cannot  be  ascertained.  If  it  should  be  thought  that  Mr. 
Raffles's  communication  holds  out  but  little  encouragement 
to  the  youthful  appUcant ;  and  that  the  stretching  forth  a 
little  further  the  hand  of  ministerial  affection,  might  have 
brought  a  valuable  recruit  into  the  ranks  of  the  Dissenter;? ; 
— it  must,  at  the  same  time,  be  recollected,  that  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  solicitation,  although  signed  with  liis  name,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  accredited,  was  virtually  anonymous : 
and  for  the  pastor  of  a  large  church,  thus  to  be  expected 
promptly  to  extend  his  patronage,  in  a  matter  of  so  much 
deUcacy,  to  an  entire  stranger,  was  in  the  abstract  unrea- 
sonable. Besides,  mider  these  circumstances,  the  lan- 
guage of  courtesy,  and  the  proposal  of  an  interview  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  RalBes,  fairly  entitle  his  conduct  herein,  to 
ihe  character  of  that  of  dehcate  and  judicious  encourage- 
ment. Thus  much  is  plainly  deducible  fiom  the  document 
alone  ;  and  if  there  was  no  other  evidence,  the  legitimate 
inference  would  be,  either  that  Siunmerfield  retracted  from 
discouragement,  or  that  he  changed  his  mind.  His  ovrn 
testimony,  from  a  letter,  WTitten  after  his  conversion,  to  a 
rehgious  friend,  appears  to  settle  the  question.  Speaking 
of  the  sanguine  hopes  he  once  entertained  in  prospect  of 
this  settlement, — he  adds  : — "  Filial  duty,  however,  pre- 
vented, on  my  father's  remonstrance,  which  arose  from  the 
doctrines  taught  by  many  of  that  body,  as  to  election,  &c. ; 
consequently  I  gave  up  the  idea."    Few  persons,  at  all 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


37 


acquainted  with  either  the  father  or  the  son,  would  doubt 
theu-  sincerity  in  this  reason :  fewer  still,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, of  those  who  witnessed  Summerfield's  fall  into  new 
dissipations,  would  rejoice  that  they  should  have  prevailed. 
At  the  same  time,  many  things,  not  necessary  to  be  specified 
here,  must  have  been  attended  to  before  he  could  have  been 
admitted  into  a  Dissenter's  Academy.  He  evidently  had 
not  the  reUgious  experience  reqiiired  of  candidates,  wliat- 
ever  his  doctrinal  notions  might  have  been. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  agony  which  he  occasionally 
felt  for  his  past  misconduct;  and  his  frequent  intervals  of 
resolution  and  reform,  he  was  repeatedly  tempted  into 
courses  of  dissipation.  He  became  extravagantly  fond  of 
theatrical  amusements  ;  and  having  no  regular  employ- 
ment, he  delighted  in  attending  whole  days  in  the  courts 
of  justice,  and  in  visiting  pubhc  institutions.  He  would 
leave  home  for  weeks  together,  visiting  London  and  other 
places,  with  the  view  of  gaining  information — his  family 
sometimes  having  no  idea  where  he  was.  As  already 
intimated,  his  admiration  of  oratory  was  excessive :  and 
he  would  lose  no  opportunity  of  hearing  eminent  speakers. 
It  was  all  one  to  him,  whether  they  were  to  be  found  in 
the  pulpit,  at  the  bar,  in  the  senate,  or  on  the  stage.  When 
necessity  compelled  him  to  return  home,  he  would  shut 
himself  up  in  his  chamber  ;  and  during  these  fits  of  seclu- 
sion, such  was  his  thirst  for  knowledge,  that  he  made  a 
point  of  rising  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  5  after  which 

D 


38 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


he  freqtuntly  remained  at  Ids  studies,  without  interruption 
until  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  taking,  during  the  interme- 
diate sixteen  hours,  only  two  or  three  cups  of  coffee  I 

This  irregulEir  and  intense  application,  was,  without 
doubt,  seriously  injurious  to  his  constitution  ;  and  he  had 
at  times  a  very  emaciated  appearance,  arising  from  mental 
labour,  close  confinement,  and  great  distress  of  mind,  on 
account  of  his  past  misconduct. 

Young  as  he  was,  his  father  now  began  to  feel  a  wish 
to  establish  him  in  some  business — and  selected,  very 
unpromisingly,  as  most  persons  wiU  think,  the  Coal 
Trade.  In  this  imgenial  concern,  he  was  associated  with 
another  individual,  more  experienced  than  himself.  Pros- 
pects of  profit  had  no  influence  with  Summerfield,  to 
induce  his  certainly  elegant  mind  to  accommodate  itself  to 
the  language  of  the  wharf,  or  calculations  by  the  chaldron. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  being  found  at  the  quay,  or  in  the 
counting  house,  he  gave  his  attention  to  neither,  but  would 
shut  himself  up  in  his  study,  or  absent  himself  from  home 
altogether.  Such  misconduct  was  followed  by  its  natural 
consequences.  The  unsettled  kind  of  life  which  he  still 
continued  to  lead,  frequently  incurred  his  father's  displea- 
sure ;  and  this  conduct  was  aggravated,  by  his  promises 
of  reform,  which  were  not  more  frequently  made  than 
they  were  broken,  so  that  his  derelictions  became  intolera- 
ble.   This  total  neglect  of  business,  and  the  concomitant 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


39 


money  losses,  led  him  to  the  exercise  of  a  facile,  and  but 
too  often  practised  an  expedient,  for  the  relief  of  his  present 
difficulties :  he  was  induced  to  indorse  paper  acceptances, 
for  those  whom  he  conceived  to  be  his  friends.  This  in- 
volved him  in  responsibilities,  which  he  could  not  meet, 
and  not  only  brought  poverty  and  distress  into  his 
family,  but  ultimate  ruin  upon  himself. — As  the  cUmax 
of  his  degradation,  he  was  thrown  into  the  Marshalsea  of 
Dubhn. 

Here  a  new  theatre  for  the  exercise  of  his  ingenuity 
was  presented  ;  having  a  tolerable  stock  of  legal  know- 
ledge, he  employed  himself  for  his  fellows  in  confinement, 
in  drawing  up  the  necessary  memorials  for  those  who  were 
seeking  their  enlargement  under  the  provisions  of  the  In- 
solvent act.  Whatever  an  attorney  could  do  in  this 
respect,  was  easy  to  Sunamerfield  ;  and  the  cases  which 
he  imdertook  to  manage,  being  generally  successful,  his 
practice  in  this  way  became  considerable,  and  continued 
even  after  his  own  liberation.  His  necessities  compelled 
him  to  make  a  regular  charge,  so  that  he  derived  firom 
this  source  a  considerable  income.  In  drawing  up  a  peti- 
tion, on  any  subject,  he  had  acquired  a  facility  that  was 
astonishing  :  he  would  commence,  and  continue  to  the 
end  of  the  document,  ahnost  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, and  rarely  with  a  single  interlineation.  In  this  re- 
spect, he  was  singularly  gifted,  as  his  letters  and  other 
compositions  evince ;  for  seldom  had  he  occasion  to  alter 


40 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


or  erase  a  word  ;  and  it  may  be  added,  that,  in  after  life 
especially,  he  wrote  a  neat  and  elegant  hand,  with  great 
rapidity  and  evenness. 

Under  these  '  circumstances,  it  is  not  sui-prising  that  he 
should  have  felt  a  strong  inclination  towards  the  study  of  the 
law.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  as  before  stated,  he  was  wont 
to  spend  days  together  in  the  courts  in  Dubhn,  where  he 
has  frequently  heard  causes  tried  from  beginning  to  end,  as 
well  for  murder,  as  for  other  crimes.  After  attending  to 
the  testimony  of  the  various  witnesses,  with  as  much 
anxiety  as  if  he  were  engaged  as  counsel,  he  would 
closely  estimate  all  the  bearings  of  the  case,  and  with 
boyish  enthusiasm,  has  been  heard  to  say,  "  O,  how  I 
shoulc  Uke  to  sum  up  !" 

On  one  occasion,  he  was  in  attendance  before  one  of 
the  courts  of  justice,  in  DubUn,  as  an  important  witness 
against  a  person  who  was  seeking  to  take  the  benefit  of 
the  Insolvent  Act.  He  was  examined,  and  most  rigidly 
cross-examined  by  an  eminent  lawyer  ;  but  to  puzzle 
him  appeared  impossible  :  he  was  able  to  recollect,  without 
any  memoranda,  the  dates  of  a  vast  number  of  pay- 
ments and  receipts,  sales  and  purchases — pounds,  shil- 
lings, and  pence,  with  such  exactness  that  it  astonished 
the  whole  court.  On  this  occasion,  the  judge  paid  him 
a  high  compliment :  "  Pray  sir,"  said  his  lordship,  "what 
is  your  profession  1" — "  I  am  in  no  profession,  my  Lord," 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  41 

answered  Summerfield.  "  No  profession,  no  "profession, 
Sir  ?" — "  No,  my  Lord."  The  judge  then  said  something 
to  the  following  effect  : — "  Well,  sir,  I  have  never  heard  a 
witness  within  the  walls  of  these  courts,  give  his  testimony 
in  a  more  clear,  correct,  and  satisfactory  maimer,  them  you 
have  done.  Depend  upon  it,  you'll  one  day  or  other  be  a 
shining  character  in  the  world." 
d2  6 


42 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTION  III. 

His  conversion — attends  prayer-meetings — verses  to  the  Rev. 
P.  and  Mrs.  French — interesting  letter  to  his  class-leader. 

The  shrewd  and  generous  prediction  of  the  Irish  judge, 
just  cited,  was  destined  to  be  fulfilled  within  a  few  months 
after  it  was  uttered — though  certainly  in  the  way  least 
anticipated  by  the  legal  prophet.  Summerfield  was  now 
nineteen  years  of  age,  the  last  four  of  which  had  been 
spent  in  the  desultory  manner  already  noticed.  The  time, 
however,  was  now  approaching,  when  the  Lord  was  about 
to  give  the  distressed  and  praymg  father  to  see  the  fulfil- 
ment of  his  most  anxious  desires,  in  the  conversion  of  his 
son — and  moreover,  in  seeing  a  double  portion,  even  of  the 
spirit  of  a  prophet,  rest  upon  liim.  This  great  gospel 
change,  it  will  be  seen,  was  not  effected  by  any  slow  or 
uncertain  process  ;  much  less,  under  such  circumstances 
as  to  leave  it,  for  sometime,  a  doubtful  case,  whether  or 
not  his  new  character  might  originate  in  the  mere  reforma- 
tion of  sentiment  and  manners.  His  conversion,  indeed, 
was  at  once  signal  and  scriptural,  and  in  its  proximate 
circumstances  little  agreeing  with  the  notions  of  those, 
who,  as  he  used  to  remark,  fancied  "  that  John  Summer- 
field  would  hi^ve  been  converted  like  a  gentleman !" 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


43 


In  the  year  1817,  he  was  brought  to  reflect  seriously  on 
his  past  hfe,  and  on  the  conduct  he  was  then  pursuing. 
He  saw  clearly  that  he  was  the  cause  of  the  distress  to 
which  his  father  was  reduced ;  and  his  own  prospects  in 
life  appeared  at  the  same  time  awftdly  gloomy :  these 
reflections  had  a  dreadftd  efiect  upon  his  mind,  and  he 
experienced  lashings  of  conscience  too  terrible  for  endu- 
rance. Instead  of  seeking  or  finding  reUef  in  prayer,  he 
felt  himself  a  reprobate  before  God,  and  was  more  than 
once  tempted  to  commit  suicide.  He  found  no  resting 
place,  amidst  the  "  mire  and  clay"  into  which  Satan  had 
brought  his  feet,  and  saw  no  escape  from  the  "  horrible 
pit"  of  his  own  despair. 

In  tliis  state  of  mental  agony,  he  was  one  day  wander- 
ing about  in  the  streets  of  Dublin,  weeping  bitterly,  when 
he  was  noticed  and  accosted  by  a  pious  man,  by  trade  an 
edge-tool  maker,  who,  with  the  tact  of  a  Methodist,  and 
the  simplicity  of  a  saint,  ascertained  his  state,  and  endea- 
voured to  comfort  him — at  the  same  time  inviting  him  to 
his  house,  or  rather  to  his  cellar,  where  he  was  about  to 
hold  a  prayer  meeting.  The  party  assembled,  consisted 
chiefly  of  soldiers  from  the  barracks  :  prayer  was  offered 
by  the  diflferent  persons  in  turn,  and  the  case  of  the  provi- 
dential interloper,  was  specially  presented  before  Him, 
with  whom  "  the  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous 
man  availeth  much ;"  and  such  was  the  fervour  of  the 
good  leader,  and  the  soldiers,  and  so  sincere  the  contrition 


44  MEMOIRS  OP  THE 

and  supplication  of  the  penitent,  that  he  that  very  night 
found  peace  to  his  soul. 

Having  found  such  a  blessing  amongst  these  poor  sol- 
diers, he  became  much  attached  to  them,  and  resolved,  if 
possible,  to  make  them  some  return  of  kindness,  for  what 
they  had  done  for  him.  On  inquiry,  he  ascertained  that 
theii-  situation  at  the  barracks  was  by  no  means  comforta- 
ble, being  perpetually  ridiculed  and  insulted  by  wicked 
men  in  the  regiment.  Hearing  this,  he  was  determined 
to  reUeve  them  if  possible, — for  on  his  visits,  he  found 
them  equally  as  bad  as  described — utterers  of  profane 
sarcasms,  and  revilers  of  all  reUgion.  In  resolving,  how- 
ever, to  do  what  he  could,  towards  changing  the  characters 
of  these  men,  he  hit  upon  an  expedient  which,  however 
successful  in  his  case,  is  of  too  perilous  a  nature  to  be  ad- 
duced for  imitation.  He  commenced  his  work  of  reforma- 
tion by  relating  such  stories  and  anecdotes,  as  he  knew 
would  please  them,  endeavouring  by  every  means  to  make 
his  company  agreeable  to  them.  In  this  he  succeeded ; 
and  in  time,  as  his  visits  became  frequent  and  acceptable, 
he  began  to  check  their  swearing,  and  other  improper 
language.  He  would  even  occasionally  condescend  to 
assist  them  in  little  matters,  as  pipe-claying  their  belts,  &c. 
At  length,  he  so  far  gained  their  respect,  and  established 
his  own  influence,  that  no  improper  language  was  ever 
allowed,  or  used  in  his  presence  ;  and  if  any  thing  wrong 
happened  to  be  going  on  at  the  time  of  his  visit,  the  moment 
that  he  entered  the  yard,  some  one  would  give  the  signal 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


45 


— "  He  s  coming !''  and  presently  all  became  order  and 
reg^llarity.  He  next  got  them  to  attend  to  reading  the 
biblC;  held  regular  prayer  meetings  among  them,  and  ex- 
horted them  to  seek  the  Lord.  The  number  of  serious 
persons  among  the  soldiers  increased  daily,  and  his  plan 
prospered  more  and  more,  untU,  to  his  great  regret,  the 
regiment  was  removed. 

He  now  felt  at  a  loss  for  a  proper  sphere  for  the  exercise 
of  his  zeal ;  at  length,  he  bethought  himself  of  the  Old 
Men^s  Hospital,  which  he  visited  repeatedly,  but  with  Uttle 
success,  as  he  found  the  inmates,  (to  use  his  own  phrase,) 
"  too  tough  for  any  impression  that  he  could  make and 
he  was  often  heard  to  say,  in  consequence  of  his  experi- 
ence here,  that  "  a  man  turned  fifty,  would  hardly  be  con- 
verted." 

His  first  class-leader  was  the  pious  Patrick  French,  who, 
at  the  latter  end  of  1817,  left  Dublin,  as  a  Missionary  to 
the  West  Indies.  This  gentleman  presently  discovered 
the  sterling  piety,  and  promising  talents,  of  the  young 
convert ;  and  before  his  departure  from  Ireland,  he  waited 
upon  one  of  the  preachers  to  commend  the  stranger  to  his 
particular  notice.  "  Brother  Lamb,"  said  he,  "  I  am  going 
from  you,  perhaps  never  to  return ;  remember  now  my 
last  request ; — take  particvdar  care  of  brother  Summer- 
field  :  make  him  known  to  all  your  brethren,  and  he  will 
one  day  shine  in  the  world,  and  in  the  church  of  God." 


46 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


From  Ml-.  French,  whom  he  used  to  call  his  spirittud 
father,  he  had  received  many  kindnesses,  and  that,  too, 
at  a  time,  when  the  attentions  of  a  christian  friend  were 
most  necessary  and  acceptable.  On  hearing  of  the  mis- 
sionary appointment  of  his  esteemed  leader,  Mr.  Summer- 
field  addressed  to  him  the  following  note  and  accompanying 
lines : — 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  Permit  me  to  send  you  the  enclosed  stanzas,  which 
occurred  to  me  as  1  lay  in  bed  this  morning,  and  which  I 
immediately  copied ;  not  that  they  contain  any  of  those 
beauties  for  which  the  poetic  muse  is  so  much  beloved, 
but  they  will  convey  a  faint  idea  of  the  esteem  in  which 
you  will  ever  be  held  in  the  breast  of 

"  AN  UNWORTHY  CLASS-MEMBER. 

5th  JVovember,  1817. 

Verses,  written  extempore,  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  French's 
going  on  a  Foreign  JiMssion,  by  a  member  of  his  class. 

I. 

And  must  we,  then,  for  ever !  ever  !  part. 
And  tear  asunder  each  from  other's  heart ! 
And  must  we  bid  a  long,  a  last  farewell ! 
No  more  to  meet,  till  call'd  by  judgement's  knell ! 

That  knell  which  shall  announce  the  death  of  time  ! 

And  sound  eternity  with  solemn  chime ! 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


n. 

And  must  /  Tvander  in  earth's  doleful  shade. 
Without  the  solace  of  my  Frenches  aid ! 
And  must  my  throbbing  heart  e'er  pine  with  grief, 
The  loss  of  him,  who  brought  its  sure  relief! 

Relief !  which  he  could  draw  from  Heaven's  store. 

Which  more  abounded,  while  he  drew  the  more  ! 


IIT. 

And  must  /  walk  the  heavenly  road  alone, 
Without  the  company  of  French,  when  gone  ! 
How  can  my  infant  feet  support  the  load, 
The  cross  which  daily  they  must  bring  to  God  ! 
Without  thy  friendly  aid  to  guide  the  way, 
And  charm  me  with  the  views  of  heavenly  day  ! 


IV. 

Well  may'st  thou  mock,  oh  pen !  thy  muse's  fire '. 
Well  may'st  refuse,  oh  tongue!  to  aid  my  Ijtc  I 
Nor  that  can  write,  nor  this  can  e'er  express, 
My  heart-felt  pangs :  for  language  ne'er  can  dress 
Thy  grief,  oh  soul !  tho'  she  explode  her  mine, 
To  search  the  richest,  and  the  most  sublime  ! 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


V. 

But  kindred  spirits,  kindred  love  can  feel ! 
Pure  love  !  and  warm,  which  never  can  congeal ! 
And  thou,  oh  French  !  dost  know  my  meaning  well. 
Although  my  simple  pen  refuse  to  tell 

The  poignant  sorrow  which  pervades  my  soul. 

At  losing  thee,  my  better  half,  my  whole  ! 


VT. 

Yet  cease,  my  muse,  to  sigh,  to  weep,  to  moan ; — 

My  heavenly  Father  calls  ! — His  will  be  done  ! 

Obedient  French,  how  ready  is  thy  pace  ! 

How  eager  thou,  to  run  the  heavenly  race  ! 
Oh  !  may  my  feet  be  always  firmly  shod. 
With  every  virtue  which  can  lead  to  God  ! 


VII. 

And  hark  ! — methinks  a  voice  now  strikes  my  ear — 
"  Oh  !  faithless  Jacob  !  what  hast  thou  to  fear  ! 
"  Though  mother  leave  the  ofTsprmg  of  her  womb, 
"  I  ne'er  will  leave  thee  till  I  land  thee  home  ! 
"  If  ravens,  when  they  cry,  are  fed  by  me, 
"  Shall  I  not  feed,  and  much  more  care  for  thee  ! 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


49 


VIII. 

"  My  servant  I  have  call'd  to  other  toil ; 

"  I've  plants  to  nourish  in  a  foreign  soil ; 

"  Which  need  a  more  than  foster-father's  care, 

"  But  which,  with  his,  will  full  perfection  bear. 

"  Didst  thou  but  know  how  much  one  soul  is  worth, 
"  Thou  woiild'st  not  murmur  that  I  send  him  forth. 


IX. 

"  Ev'n  India's  naked  sons  lift  up  their  eyes, 
"  And  I  have  heard  their  deep  and  bitter  cries  '. 
"  To  dry  their  tears,  I  raised  my  servant  up, 
■'  And  for  sin's  gall,  to  give  salvation's  cup  ! 
"  That  so,  the  glorious  crown  for  him  prepared, 
"May  shine  with  lustre  bright,  as  iiis  reward  !" 

X. 

Amen  !  my  Lord  !  I  bow  with  solemn  awe ! 

'Tis  not  for  me  to  alter  Heaven's  high  law ; 

Take  then  thy  servant !  and,  like  moisten'd  mould, 

Seal  him  thyself,  for  thine  eternal  fold  ! 
Till  worlds  on  worlds  revolving  roll  away, 
And  thou  shin'st  forth  in  one  eternal  day ! 

Amen, 


50 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Under  the  same  date  he  addressed  the  following  vale- 
dictory memento  to  Mrs.  French  : — 

"  Dear  Madam, 

"  AUow  me  to  send  you  the  inclosed  little  tribute  of 
my  affection  and  esteem.  I  know  it  is  unworthy  of  your 
acceptance  ;  but  if  it  cause  you  the  smallest  gratification, 
or  cheer  any  of  those  moments  which  the  idea  of  bidding 
adieu  to  your  native  home,  must  necessarily  render  sullen 
and  clouded,  my  ambition  will  have  attained  the  pinnacle 
of  its  wishes. 

"  Believe  me,  dear  madam, 

"  yours,  very  affectionately, 

Bth  J^OV.  1817.  "  A  CLASS  COMPANION." 

ACROSTICK. 

S  ister,  I  call  thee  in  my  rhyme ; 

I  know  no  other  name  of  thine, 

S  o  let  me  be  forgiven  ;— 

T  hough  soon  we  leave  each  other  here, 

E  ternity  is  very  near  ! 

R  esolve  to  meet  in  heaven  ! 

F  arewell !  my  throbbing  heart  would  say ; 

R  emember  me  when  far  away, 

E  v'n,  morn,  and  noon,  at  mercy's  throne  ; 

N  or  fear  that  I'll  forgetful  be ; 

C  onstantly  I'll  remember  thee  ; 

H  eaven  is  our  mutual  home ! 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


51 


F  arewell !— ray  lips  refuse  to  say  : — 

A  Imighty  Father  !  guide  their  way, 

R  ide  with  them  on  the  storm  ! — 

E  ach  blessing  that  thy  stores  contain, 

W  ith  heaven  itself,  oh !  let  them  gain  ! 

E  ach  good,  in  every  form  ! — 

L  ord  !  be  their  guide  with  special  care ! 

L  ord  !  may  they  all  thy  blessings  share ! 

Amen  ! 

The  foregoing  lines,  regarded  simply  with  reference  to 
the  sentiments,  are  not  deficient  in  those  quaUties  for  which 
all  liis  compositions  were  distinguished — good  sense,  good 
feeling,  and  good  taste  :  as  poetry,  they  merit  slight  praise. 
It  is  however  no  disparagement  to  have  succeeded  but  in- 
differently, where  even  practised  preachers  have  rarely 
done  better.  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  and  one  or  two 
of  their  contemporaries,  have  written  hymns  of  unsurpass- 
able merit,  and  deserved  celebrity  ;  but  their  successors  m 
the  muiistry,  however  eloquent  in  discourse,  or  fervent  in 
prayer,  have  generally  become  impotent,  the  moment  they 
have  invoked  the  muse  ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that 
though  they  have  contributed  their  full  share  to  the  stock 
of  amateur  poetry,  there  is  not  (so  far  as  I  am  aware)  one 
popular  piece  of  verse,  written  by  a  methodist  preacher. 
Summerfield,  however,  ought  not  here  to  be  defrauded  of 
the  higher  praise,  of  having  ever  afterward  (with  perhaps 
a  single  exception)  let  alone  "  the  unprofitable  art  of  verse- 
making,"  in  favour  of  the  more  sacred  duty  of  preaching 
t  lie  everlasting  gospel.  Nor  let  it  be  supposed,  that  this  arose 


52 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


from  any  deficiency  in  the  perception  of  poetical  beauty, 
hut  rather  tlie  reverse ;  it  was  once  remarked  by  a  very 
eloquent  and  popular  preacher  in  New- York,  that  he  never, 
in  his  hfe,  heard  a  man  who  could  read  poetry,  except  one 
— and  that  was  Mr.  Summerfield. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  addressed  by  Mr. 
Summerfield  to  his  friend  and  class-leader,  the  aforenamed 
Rev.  P.  Frencli,  wiU  be  read  with  great  interest.  The 
writer's  well  known  characteristics  of  memory,  veracity, 
and  candour,  are  vouchers  for  the  authenticity  of  a  narra- 
tive, to  which  providence  has  given  a  peculiar  interest,  and 
which  exhibits  certain  deUcate  autobiographical  touches, 
which,  in  the  estimation  of  its  present  copyist,  ought  to 
be  sacredly  preserved. 

"  Dublin,  Lower  Mount-Street, 

Mv.  24th,  1817. 

"  My  very  dear  Sir, 

"  Although  you  kindly  promised  to  favour  me  with 
a  letter  from  Lom'.on,  at  your  convenience,  yet  my  anxiety 
to  have  tliis  pleasure  fulfilled,  will  not  suffer  me  to  wait, 
without  putting  you  in  mind  of  this  your  promise,  and 
requesting  that  you  would  hasten  that  communication  for 
which  I  am  so  anxious.  I  should  be  quite  discouraged 
from  attempting  to  write  to  you  at  this  time,  when  I  sup- 
pose every  moment  is  engaged  in  concerns  of  so  weighty 
a  nature  ;  and  with  this  idea,  it  gives  me  some  pam  to 
tliink  that  1  am  trespassing  upon  any  portion  of  that, 


REV.  JOHN  SU.M.MERFIELD.  53 

which  must  be  so  very  valuable  to  you  ;  but  when  I  view 
you  ill  the  light  of  my  dearest  parent,  in  which  capacity 
you  have  not  only  been  pleased  to  consider  yourself  by 
words,  but  much  more  by  your  actions,  I  should  be  want- 
ing in  that  dutiful  respect  which  I  owe  you,  were  T  to  per- 
mit any  consideration  to  prevent  my  paying  my  respects 
to  you,  as  I  am  bound  to  do  by  duty,  but  much  more  by 
love.  Hoping,  therefore,  for  your  kind  pardon  for  this 
hasty  liberty,  I  presume  to  unbosom  my  mind  to  you  in  a 
manner  which  baslifulness  would  not  suffer  me  to  do,  when 
I  had  the  happiness  of  j-our  presence  hero. 

"  I  cannot  sufficiently  lament  that  I  had  not  the  delight 
of  your  acquaintance  at  a  much  earlier  period  of  time 
than  I  have  had  ;  for  had  I  been  so  fortunate,  I  should 
have  been  prevented  from  fighting  against  what  I  now  see 
to  be  the  manifest  openings  of  that  kind  Providence,  who 
says,  '  your  name  is  graven  on  the  palms  of  my  hands,' 
who  therefore  marks  out  all  our  goings,  if  w^e  will  but 
follow  his  dictates. 

"  Such  was  the  short  duration  of  our  acquaintance,  that 
1  do  not  even  know,  whether  you  knew  that  I  was  the 
son  of  a  person,  with  whom  you  had,  I  believe,  been  very 
intimate,  as  brethren  in  Christ,  for  a  long  time  :  for  my 
father  was  for  a  considerable  time  a  member  of  the  Stran- 
.  gcrs'  Friend  Society  in  Dublin,  and  on  terms  of  affectionate 
intimacy  with  you. 


7 


54 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


"  However,  as  the  loss  I  have  sustained  in  my  spiiitual 
state,  for  want  of  an  earher  connexion,  cannot  now  be 
recovered,  I  wish  at  this  time  to  lay  before  you,  a  very 
short  account  of  the  deahngs  of  Providence  with  me,  and 
to  request  you  wiU  give  me  such  paternal  advice  as  you 
may  see  I  so  much  need  :  but  as  this  can  only  be  done 
when  you  have  a  moment  of  leisure  time,  let  me  not 
intrude  myself  on  you  till  that  offers  itself 

"  I  often  think,  that  the  dealings  of  Ahnighty  God  have 
been  more  various  towards  me,  than  with  persons  much 
more  advanced  in  life. 

"  I  shall  have  cause  to  bless  ihe  Lord,  through  all  the 
ages  of  eternity,  that  I  was  born  of  religious  parents, — 
my  father  being  for  many  years  a  leader  and  local  preacher 
in  the  Methodist  connexion,  and  for  some  time  a  steward, 
until  we  removed  from  Preston  to  Staffordshire.  As  I  was 
his  eldest  son,  it  was  his  particular  wish  that  I  should  have 
the  best  of  educations,  as  he  always  designed  me  for  a 
profession.  With  this  view,  after  being  sent  to  the  best 
preparatory  schools,  I  was  put  among  the  Moravians,  or 
United  Brethren,  at  Fairfield,  near  Manchester,  where  I 
remained  nearly  five  years.  About  the  close  of  this  time, 
my  father  received  a  call  from  the  Almighty,  to  preach  the 
everlasting  gospel  on  the  itinerant  plan.  At  this  time,  he 
was  very  extensively  engaged  in  business  in  Lancashire, 
and  estimated  worth  10,000Z.  ;  he  had  just  completed  the 
building  of  a  commodious  house  for  our  family  in  Preston : 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


55 


and  was  prospering  in  worldly  concerns,  as  much  as  any 
reasonable  person  could  desire. 

His  heart  being  alive  to  God,  and  his  cause,  he  dared 
not  resist  the  will  of  his  great  master,  and  prepared  to  qxiit 
Ids  business,  and  hang  upon  Providence  for  liis  future  life. 
For  this  pui-pose,  he  accepted  the  offer  of  a  gentleman  from 
Liverpool,  to  become  partner  with  him  in  his  business, 
which  my  father  was  the  more  willing  to  do,  as  it  was  his 
intention  to  quit  his  business  gradually,  by  disposing  of 
all  he  had  to  this  his  then  partner.  But  before  he  could 
get  this  accomplished,  he  found  that  he  had  misplaced  his 
choice,  as  the  person  with  whom  he  had  associated  him- 
self, though  to  all  appearance  a  gentleman  of  the  first 
respectability,  though  a  worldly  man, — was  involved  in  a 
mass  of  debt,  from  which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  ex- 
tricate himself.  In  this  situation,  my  father  became  hable 
for  these  debts  as  his  partner  ;  and  in  order  to  prevent 
worse  consequences,  he  was  advised  to  assign  over  all  his 
property  of  every  nature  and  kind,  to  this  person,  upon 
the  promise  that  he  should  receive  a  fail-  recompense  for  it. 
My  father  had  but  two  choices,  either  to  do  this,  or  be  torn 
in  pieces  for  these  debts,  which  might  be  more  than  the 
amount  of  all  that  my  lather  was  then  worth.  This  per- 
son, however,  never  fulfilled  any  part  of  his  agreement ; 
and  my  father,  by  repeated  delays  and  disappointments, 
gave  up  the  idea  of  following  that  call,  wliich  he  has  ever 
smce  confessed  it  was  his  duty  to  do.  It  seemed  as  if  Pro- 
vidence had  prepared  his  way,  by  cutting  off  at  one 


56 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


stroke,  every  worldly  affair,  and  by  now  refusing  that  call, 
which  he  had  promised  to  accept,  the  judgements  of  God 
have  ever  since  hung  heavy  upon  him.  He  has  often 
engaged  in  worldly  matters  since  ;  he  has  amassed  wealth 
since  that  time,  •  but  the  Almighty  never  suffered  it  to 
remam  with  him  :  he  has  lost  thousands  of  pounds  in 
such  ways  as  ahnost  seemed  miraculous,  and  he  now 
attributes  it  entirely  to  this  one  act.  Though  he  now 
enjoys  the  favour  of  God,  and  even  his  sanctifying  love  in 
a  great  degree, — yet  he  always  mourns  this  one  action  of 
his  life,  and  has  frequently  told  me,  in  sincerity  and  truth, 
that  the  Almighty  has  clearly  shown  him  that  this  was 
the  cause,  and  always  wiU  be  a  cause  of  temporal  chastise- 
ment. 

"  The  ways  of  Providence  have  been  most  mysterious 
to  me ;  and  in  order  that  I  may  not  frustrate  the  wise 
designs  of  Heaven,  I  will  briefly  state  what  I  have  expe- 
rienced. 

"  From  the  losses  my  father  sustained,  I  was  taken 
from  school  very  abruptly,  and  having  engaged  in  several 
worldly  affairs,  I  became  clerk  to  a  merchant  in  Liverpool 
at  fourteen  years  of  age,  with  whom  I  had  a  liberal  salary, 
though  so  very  young,  owing  to  my  knowledge  of  the 
French  language,  of  which  my  master  knew  nothing. 
Few,  so  young,  had  such  fine  worldly  prospects  as  I  had ; 
but  in  a  short  time,  it  pleased  Providence  to  thwart  me, 
by  my  employer  becoming  a  bankrupt.    I  then  removed 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


57 


to  Ireland  with  my  father,  where  I  had  not  been  long, 
when  I  had  a  strong  desire  to  return  to  England,  having 
opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Raffles,  a 
Calvinist  minister,  with  a  view  of  obtaining  permission  to 
enter  their  Seminary  at  Hoxton,  to  be  prepared  for  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  which,  if  I  had  done,  I  should  pro- 
bably now  have  been  a  preacher  of  the  everlasting  gospel 
to  that  people.  I  poured  out  my  prayers  to  God  ;  and  if 
ever  I  felt  power  with  the  Almighty,  it  was  then.  I  am 
assured  he  smiled  on  me  in  all  I  did,  and  when  I  had 
wept  before  him  on  the  reflection  of  the  awfulness  of  the 
work,  and  my  own  youth,  I  have  experienced  such  a  sense 
of  his  presence  and  promises  of  assistance,  that  I  could  not 
for  a  moment  doubt  it  was  his  will. 

"  From  what  I  experienced  at  that  time,  I  am  convinced 
that  there  are  as  good  men  in  that  body  of  Christians,  as 
in  any  other,  for  I  was  strongly  rooted  in  their  opinions, 
but  suffered  no  diminution  in  love  to  God  on  that  accoimt. 
Since  then,  the  xA.lmighty,  in  a  great  measure,  withdrew  his 
presence  from  me  ;  and  when  my  father  directed  my  pur- 
suits to  worldly  objects.  He  thw^arted  me  in  every  under- 
taking. 

"  After  being  for  some  time  with  my  father,  he  put  me 
into  the  Coal  trade,  in  partnership  with  another  person  then 
in  the  business.  I  advanced  500Z.,  as  my  capital ;  before 
we  had  been  together  three  months,  my  partner  behaved 
to  me  very  dishonestly ;  he  had  my  money  in  his  hands,  and 
8 


58 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


got  himself  arrested,  and  having  spent  four  months  in  goal, 
got  out  under  the  Insolvent  Act.  by  wliich  I  lost  all  my 
money. 

"  In  my  soberest  moments,  I  cannot  account  for  these 
different  crosses  on  the  scale  of  human  mischances, — as 
so  called ;  for  I  was  not  devoid  of  all  such  prudence  as 
worldly  men  make  use  of  After  this,  my  father  again 
resolved  to  coutmue  me  in  ihe  business. 

"  My  prospects  for  a  time  began  to  brighten  ;  and  with 
my  business  my  acquaintances  also  encreased,  and  I  was 
induced  by  some  to  accept  bills  for  their  accommodation  to 
a  large  amount,  which  they  were  to  provide  for.  My  good 
nature  was  visited  on  my  own  head  ;  the  bills  came  down 
on  me,  and  in  the  midst  of  my  seeming  prosperity,  I  was 
tluown  into  prison  for  those  bills  which  I  had  accepted. 
There,  the  Almighty  kept  me  seven  long  months,  and  I  was 
again  plunged  into  poverty. 

"  Now,  my  dearest  friend,  what  shall  I  do  ?  I  hope  that 
God  has  completely  weaned  me  from  earthly  things  ;  I 
have  not  one  wish  below  the  sun,  but  to  live  to  Him.  I 
am  determined  to  submit  to  his  Providence,  and  to  do  what- 
ever he  shall  unfold  to  me. 

"  A  thought  occurred  to  me  yesterday,  in  which  T  also 
entreat  your  advice  :  I  understand  that  the  Messrs.  Shaws 
have  taken  your  establishment  ;  now  if  you  think  they 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


59 


would  w  ant  some  person  to  fill  the  capacity  which  you 
filled,  along  with  Mrs.  French,  you  might  write  to  Mr. 
Shaw  for  me.  From  my  knowledge  of  the  French  lan- 
guage, Music,  Latin,  Greek,  <fcc.  I  might  be  an  acquisi- 
tion ;  not  to  mention  the  inferior  branches,  such  as  Geog- 
raphy, History,  Astronomy,  &c.  &c.  K  it  should  please 
God  to  call  me  to  this  situation,  I  could  fill  it  with  honour 
to  myself  and  them.  But  I  am  entirely  resigned  to  God, 
(o  whatever  he  has  for  me  to  do.  I  often  wish  that  I  was 
in  the  Stranger's  Friend  Society,  for  the  Ahnighty  might 
have  something  for  me  to  do  for  Him,  and  I  tliink  I  can 
never  glorify  Him  sufficiently.  Yet,  oh,  my  dear  French, 
I  am  like  a  sheep  \vithout  a  shepherd  ;  I  have  no  one  to 
lead  me  by  the  hand ;  I  am  myself  a  stranger — yet  I 
would  fain  become  a  stranger's  friend.  If  I  could  flatter 
myself,  that  I  could  be  in  any  degree  useful,  I  should  never 
be  tired  in  being  spent  for  God. 

"  However,  I  sit  me  down,  and  mourn  over  my  fate — 
if  I  may  use  the  word  ;  and  my  misfortune  in  being  tore 
iVom  you,  at  such  an  early  stage  of  our  connexion.  You 
are  indeed  my  father  in"  Christ ;  and  whatever  glory  may 
redound  to  my  heavenly  Father,  through  any  weak  efforts 
of  mine,  must  eventually  be  attributed  to  you. — I  bless 
God,  my  love  to  Him  is  daily  encreasing,  and  I  am  deter- 
mined, let  others  do  as  they  will,  I  will  serve  the  Lord.  I 
hope  you  are  growing  more  and  more  to  the  fulness  of  the 
measure  of  Christ ;  and  that  Mrs.  French  enjoys  a  con- 
tinued sense  of  the  approbation  of  her  great  Master. — If  I 


60 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


never  meet  you  again  on  earth,  I  am  certain  I  shall 
meet  you  in  heaven  ;  for  thither  I  am  resolved  to  hasten, 
and  I  am  as  certain  you  will  embrace  me  there. 

"  Do  not  neglect  to  answer  me  fuUy. 

"  May  God  have  you  in  his  holv  keeping,  is  the  earnest 
prayer  of, 

"  Dear  Sir, 
"  Your  unworthy,  but  affectionate, 

"JOHN  SUMMERFIELD!" 

A  brief  note,  bearing  date  Nov.  29,  1817,  addressed 
by  the  Rev.  P.  French  to  Mr.  Summerfield,  contains  the 
following  exhortation  : — "  Wait  God's  appointed  time  in 
all  circumstances.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Shaw  about  you  :  he 
will,  I  know,  do  what  he  can.  God  is  your  best  friend — 
trust  Him — when  you  least  expect  it,  his  promise  wiU  be 
confirmed.  Let  prayer  be  your  constant  exercise.  Value 
the  bible  as  your  faithful  companion.  Rise  early  in  the 
morning  for  reading  and  prayer  ;  and  frequent  the  ordi- 
nances." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


6t 


SECTION  IV. 

Begins  to  keep  a  Diary — attends  Sunday  schools — gives  an 
exhortation — incessantly  studies  the  Holy  Scriptures — 
attends  an  Irish  wake — filial  obedience — falls  into  tempta- 
tion. 

The  preceding  sections  exhibit  a  somewhat  rapid 
sketch  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  life,  from  the  time  of  his 
birth  to  the  twentieth  year  of  his  age.  Of  the  remaining 
portion  of  his  brief  but  brilliant  career,  more  ample  and 
detailed  notices  will  be  expected :  happily  for  the  writer 
and  readers  of  the  Memoirs  of  this  most  interesting  ser- 
vant of  God,  his  own  industry  has  left  materials  the  most 
abundant  and  satisfactory. 

From  the  time  of  his  conversion,  until  the  period  when 
he  could  no  longer  hold  a  pen — with  some  interruptions — 
he  kept  an  exact  Diary  of  his  hfe.  In  projecting  this 
elaborate  register  of  his  daily  actions  and  experience,  INIr. 
Summerfield  might  justly  have  colioquized  with  himself 
in  the  langueige  of  the  most  eloquent  and  powerful  of  mo- 
dem British  Essayists.*    "  The  little  rill,  near  the  source 


*  Foster.— On  a  man  writing  Memoirs  of  Himself. 
F 


62 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


of  one  of  the  great  American  rivers,  is  an  interesting 
object  to  the  traveller,  who  is  apprized,  as  he  steps  across 
it,  or  walks  a  few  miles  along  its  bank,  that  this  is  the 
stream  which  runs  so  far,  and  which  gradually  swells  into 
so  immense  a  flood.  So,  while  I  anticipate  the  endless 
progress  of  life,  and  wonder  through  what  unknown 
scenes  it  is  to  take  its  course,  its  past  years  lose  that  cha- 
racter of  vanity  which  would  seem  to  belong  to  a  train  of 
fleeting,  perishing  moments,  and  I  see  them  assuming  the 
dignity  of  a  commencing  eternity.  In  them  I  have  begun 
to  be  that  conscious  existence  which  I  am  to  be  through 
infinite  duration  :  and  I  feel  a  strange  emotion  of  curiosity 
about  this  little  life,  in  which  I  am  setting  out  on  such  a 
progress  ;  I  cannot  be  content  without  an  accurate  sketch 
of  the  windings  thus  far  of  a  stream  which  is  to  bear  me 
on  for  ever." 

This  invaluable  document,  in  a  transcript  of  certified 
accuracy,  now  lies  before  me.  It  appears,  indeed,  from  an 
expression  in  the  passage  presently  to  he  cited,  that  this  is 
not  the  earliest  diurnal  record  which  Mr.  Summerfield  had 
kept :  whether,  however,  that  has  been  preserved  or  not, 
appears  uncertain ;  it  is  not  among  the  papers  transmitted 
to  the  present  writer. 

The  "  Journal,"  as  it  is  entitled,  is  thus  introduced  : 
— "  1818,  January  1st.  Thursday — Commenced  this  year 
in  Whitefriar-street  meeting  house,  on  my  knees,  at  the 
watch-night. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


63 


I  felt  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  my  soul  was  fed 
with  good  things.  Oh !  that  I  may  prove  faithful  this 
year.  I  have  often  dedicated  myself  to  God  on  a  similar 
occasion,  but  as  often  have  violated  my  engagements ;  yet 
tliis  year,  I  am  determined,  let  others  do  what  they  will, 
I  will  serve  the  Lord. 

"  When  I  call  to  mind  the  mercies  of  the  past  year, 
I  am  quite  lost  in  contemplating  the  goodness  of  God. 

'  Where  shcM  my  wandering  soul  begin? 

The  last  year,  was  truly  a  year  of  trial,  and  great  aflSiction 
to  our  family,  as  may  be  seen  in  other  parts  of  my  former 
diary.  What  this  year  may  bring  forth,  I  know  not! 
But  oh,  my  Father  !  whatever  thou  mayest  have  in  reserve 
for  me,  in  the  womb  of  thy  Providence,  this  year,  prepare 
me  for  it.  Thy  will  be  done  !  I  am  satisfied  to  pass 
through  poverty,  if  it  is  thy  will ;  only  let  me  be  always 
rich  in  faith  towards  thee.  If  I  should  be  entrusted  with 
temporal  riches,  may  I  consider  myself  as  thy  steward,  to 
whom  I  must  give  an  account ;  and  keep  me  always  poor 
in  spiiit.  If  this  should  be  a  year  of  sorrow  to  me,  yet 
may  I  be  enabled  always  to  rejoice  in  God  my  Saviour — 
If  a  year  of  joy,  yet  may  I  sotrow  that  I  do  not  love  Thee 
more.  I  am  thine,  do  with  me  what  thou  wilt,  only  bring 
me  to  glory !" 

The  following  entry,  under  the  same  date,  refers  to  an 


64 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


engagement  which  is  the  more  precisely  noted  here,  for  a 
reason  which  will  presently  appear  : — "  8  o'clock  ;  after 
preacliing,  was  invited  by  my  dear  brother,  my  class  com- 
panion, to  come  to  a  prayer-meeting,  in  Whitefriar's-street, 
appointed  for  supplicating  a  revival  of  God's  work  among  us 
this  year. — WMe  on  my  knees,  an  unknown  hand  tapped 
me  on  the  shoulder  to  pray ;  it  was  the  first  time  I  ever 
prayed  in  pubhc  :  I  began  in  weakness,  but,  glory  to  God ! 
good  was  done,  and  I  ended  in  great  power. — The  meeting 
continued  till  11  o'clock." 

Three  days  afterwards,  he  notices  his  attendance  at  the 
Sunday-school  in  the  forenoon  ;  and  m  the  afternoon,  that 
he  went  to  arrange  "  for  our  new  school  in  Weaver's 
Hall."  In  the  evening  of  this  first  sabbath  in  the  year, 
he  went  to  Whitefriar's-street  meeting  house,  to  hear  his 
"  beloved  Mr.  Wood"  preach,  and  where  he  "  renewed  the 
covenant,  with  fear  and  trembUng  :"  on  reaching  home,  he 
•vsTote, — "  11  o'clock  ;  on  my  way  home,  I  was  musmg  upon 
what  I  had  done  :  saw  that  I  had  married  myself  to 
Christ,  to  take  him  for  better  and  worse,  through  honour 
and  dishonour  ;  and  I  saw  the  beauty  of  that  passage  in 
the  Revelations,  '  behold  the  bridegroom  cometh  ;  and  the 
bride,  the  lamb's  wife,  hath  made  herself  ready.'  Oh  !  may 
I  be  pure,  and  chaste,  and  spotless,  and  worthy  of  this  liigh 
honour.  The  family  were  all  in  bed,  and  I  had  a  fine 
opportunity,  which  I  unproved  by  fervent  prayer— my  soul 
was  watered  abundantly." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


65 


The  following  evening  at  the  class  he  experienced  a 
still  more  distinct  manifestation  of  the  divine  presence  and 
approbation :  he  says,  "  though  I  obscured  myself  in  a 
dark  corner  of  the  meeting,  yet  God  saw  me,  and  I  was 
called  upon  to  pray,  though  there  were  many  in  the  meet- 
ing much  more  able.  I  never  experienced  so  much  free- 
dom ;  I  have  reason  to  beUeve  it  was  owned  of  God ; 
three  souls  were  set  at  hberty — '  from  the  bondage  of  their 
sins.'"  At  the  conclusion  of  this  day,  after  having 
prayed  three  times  in  pubhc,  he  exclaims,  "  where  will  all 
this  end  !"  The  next  day,  he  was  unanimously  voted  a 
member  of  the  "  Praying  Association,"  which  engagement 
reqviired  that  he  should  exercise  his  gift  pubUckly  in  the 
chapels,  as  well  as  in  private  houses ;  upon  receiving  his 
appointment  for  Cork-street  chapel,  he  repeats  the  excla- 
mation, "  where  will  this  end  I"  When  the  season  for  his 
pubUc  officiation  in  the  chapel  arrived,  his  apprehension? 
were  disappointed — he  not  only  felt  hberty  but  comfort. 
This  prepared  him  for  the  next  turn,  where,  in  consequence 
of  the  local  arrangements,  his  duty  required  him  to  ascend 
the  reading  desk  :  he  had  never  before  been  so  conspicu- 
ously elevated,  and  experienced  in  consequence  a  good 
deal  of  agitation.  Having  a  slight  impediment  in  his 
epeech.  he  was  apprehensive  that  he  might  stammer  in 
giving  out  the  hymn.  But  he  found  how  true  was  the 
divine  assurance,  "  cast  j'our  care  upon  me,  and  I  will 
sustain  it  •,"  he  felt  no  hesitation ;  and  much  good  was 
done. 

f2  9 


66 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


He  next  ventured  to  speak  bis  experience  at  a  "  Fellow 
ship  meeting;"  and  on  the  18th  of  January,  at  the  instance 
of  liis  "  dear  class  companion,"  he  was  induced  to  give  a  j 
brief  extemporary  exhortation  at  the  conclusion  of  a  prayer 
meeting,  held  in  Sweeney's  lane.  To  use  his  own  words, 
"I  arose  with  fear  and -trembling :  it  was  the  first  time 
that  ever  I  exhorted  (so  formally,  he  means)  in  pubUc  or 
private.  Glory  to  God,  he  was  my  mouth,  and  though  I 
feared  the  impediment  in  my  speech,  I  found  no  effect 
from  it — I  sang  and  prayed,  and  I  beUeve  good  was  done." 
Thus,  in  the  short  space  of  three  weeks,  this  sincere  and 
zealous  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  graduated  from  the 
first  public  exercise  of  liis  talents  in  an  obscure  prayer 
meeting,  to  the  earUest  display  of  those  higher  pulpit 
(luaUfications,  for  which  he  became  afterwards  so  pre- 
eminently distinguished.  It  is  a  caise  happily  illustrative 
of  that  peculiarity  in  the  system  of  Methodism,  which 
provides  so  admirably  for  the  developement  and  occupancy 
of  whatever  degrees  of  piety  or  intelligence  may  be  pos- 
-sessed  by  any  of  its  members. 

Many  persons  will  doubtless  be  inclined  to  regard  this 
rapid  advancement  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Summerfield,  eithej 
as  very  presumptuous  or  very  precocious.  Some  of  his 
slower  paced  contemporaries  were  not  slack  in  exercising 
this  prerogative  :  without,  however,  the  sUghtest  disposition 
to  impute  improper  motives  to  these  inquisitors,  it  is  grati- 
fying to  know  that  the  subject  of  them  was  not  only  not 
offended,  but  that  he  evinced  at  once  his  growth  in  grace 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


67 


as  well  as  in  gifts,  by  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  he  re- 
ceived (perhaps  wholesome)  animadversions.  Those  who 
were  fond  of  order  in  the  prayer  meetings,  charged  him 
with  being  "  too  enthusiastic  ;"  and  wliich  grieved  him  the 
most,  professed  to  doubt  whether  he  had  even  "  experienced 
the  pardon  of  his  sins."  These  allegations  induced  him  to 
exclaim  in  secret,  "  God,  thou  knowest  my  heart  I  Thy 
gloiy  is  the  sole  end  I  have  in  view  :"  and  the  next  day, 
after  studying  the  scriptures  for  two  hours,  he  adds — "  This 
day  I  have  been  more  earnest  at  the  tlirone  of  grace,  than 
ever  I  was  before.  I  have  prayed  six  or  seven  tunes,  at 
great  length,  that  I  might  not  be  deceived,  and  felt  my  soul 
melted  down  in  the  furnace  of  love." 

At  this  period,  besides  attendmg  to  nvunerous  religious 
engagements,  and  studying  the  Holy  Scriptures  systemati- 
cally and  almost  incessantly,  he  was  employed  in  various 
household  duties,  which  his  past  indiscretions  having  con- 
tributed to  impose,  so  his  present  humihty  influenced  him 
to  perform.  He  Ukewise  devoted  a  certain  portion  of  each 
day  to  the  education  of  his  yoimger  sisters ;  and  withal, 
attended  to  the  settlement  of  various  accounts  cormected 
with  his  father's  concerns.  The  adjudication  of  these 
affairs  was  irksome  to  his  spiritual  sensibihty,  by  bringing 
him  into  contact  with  persons  and  ciicumstances  ungenial 
to  the  growth  of  piety ;  and  in  one  instance  especially  he 
very  narrowly  escaped  an  unpleasant  exposure  in  connexion 
with  the  Marshalsea.  His  own  account  of  this  accident 
is  as  follows  :  "  I  had  this  day  a  miraculous  interposition 


68 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


of  Divine  aid ;  I  was  in  a  strait,  owing  to  some  error  I  had 

committed  in  's  business,  confined  in  the  Marshall's, 

which  would  have  remanded  him.  I  cried  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  delivered  me.  He  caused  that  the  mistake  was 
not  perceived  by  the  officer  of  the  court,  though  seven 
persons  were  remanded  for  a  far  less  trifling  mistake.  I 
will  glorify  thy  name,  O  Lord  my  God !"  He  but  a  few 
days  before  prevailed  upon  his  father  to  give  to  a  person 
whom  he  had  arrested,  a  clear  receipt  against  a  bill  of  300Z., 
for  the  consideration  of  a  note  for  502.  payable  in  six 
months. 

The  custom  of  waking  with  the  dead,  although  of  great 
antiquity  and  extensively  prevalent  in  Ireland,  is  so  fre- 
quently cormected  with  social  broils,  and  other  cucmn- 
stances  of  indecorum,  that  it  would  be  much  "more 
honoured  by  the  breach  than  the  observance."  This 
practice,  however,  is  not  confined  either  to  the  poor  or  the 
ignorant ;  and  the  subjoined  passage  from  Mr.  Summer- 
field's  Diary  at  this  period,  will  show  that  even  such  an 
observance  may  be  turned  to  spiritual  account  11 
o'clock,  I  went  to  a  wake  of  a  dear  brother,  who  had  died 
the  day  before  in  the  Lord.  Five  of  our  brethren  accom- 
panied me ;  we  sat  up  all  night :  the  room  was  filled  with 
a  mixed  society.  Catholics  and  others  :  we  redeemed  the 
time.  Having  obtained  the  consent  of  the  relations  of  the 
deceased,  we  commenced  surging  a  Hymn,  which  is  a  most 
unheard  of  tiling  on  these  occasion,  the  time  being  usually 
spent  in  mirth.    I  then  went  to  prc/er:  after  this  we 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD, 


69 


spent  the  night  betwixt  singing  and  praying,  and  exhort- 
ing, and  rehgious  conversation,  and  our  Uttle  labours  were 
owned  of  God.  Some  were  struck  by  his  word  and  wept 
aloud— Glory  to  God  !" 

The  following  memorandum  relative  to  the  domestic 
circumstances  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  family  at  this  junc- 
ture is  affectingly  interesting : — "  Diiuier,  and  hearing  my 
sisters  their  lessons  :  my  father  coming  home,  I  was  desired 
to  go  with  him  to  buy  some  clothes.  He  expended  91. 
He  was  in  great  want  of  clothes  himself.  I  remarked  with 
joy,  that  the  first  thing  he  said,  after  buying  a  coat  for 
himself,  was  '  now,  I  thank  God,  I  can  again  attend  the 
means.'  Lord,  thou  hast  brought  us  very  low,  but  thou 
art  again  trying  us  with  a  httle  prospect;  may  we  in 
every  state  be  faithful  to  Thee." 

Filial  obedience  is  a  most  excellent,  and  much  too  rarely 
practised  cluistian  virtue.  It  is  not  only  the  "  first  com- 
mandment with  promise,"  in  the  law  of  God,  but  happily 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  early  instincts  of  oiur  nature. 
Alas !  how  soon  does  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart 
manifest  itself  in  rebelhon  against  parental  authority :  and 
it  is  no  less  a  painful  truth,  that  frequently  the  spiritual 
cliildren  of  God,  ftiil  rightly  to  reverence  theii'  earthly 
parents.  It  is  indeed  matter  of  lamentation  to  see  how 
many  fathers  and  mothers,  instead  of  themselves  obeying 
the  divine  injunction  to  "  brmg  up  their  children  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord,"  seem  rather  willing; 


70 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


by  thek  negligence,  to  disfranchise  their  offspring  from 
this  paramount  duty.  It  has  aheady  been  shown  that  the 
elder  Mr.  Summerfield  was  a  man  of  God  :  to  the  utmost 
of  his  ability  he  brought  up  his  children  in  the  way  that 
they  should  go.  His  son  John,  especially  after  his  con- 
version, not  only  duly  reverenced  his  father  as  such,  but  re- 
garded him  as  a  christian  professor  of  rare  and  ripe  expe- 
rience. He  appears,  however,  to  have  inclined  towards  a 
degree  of  strictness  with  reference  to  the  subject  of  these 
Memoirs,  which  might  be  partially  attributable  to  the 
past  misconduct  of  the  latter. 

At  prayer  meetings,  and  other  means  of  grace,  as  well 
as  in  rehgious  conversation  with  chiistian  friends,  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield w^as  sometimes  detained  until  a  late  hour  in  the 
evening :  this  exposed  him  to  the  dissatisfaction  and  re- 
monstrances of  his  father,  who  had  generally  on  these 
occasions  to  sit  up,  or  rise  from  his  bed  to  let  him  into  the 
house.  While  the  Diary  before  me,  contains  towards  the 
commencement  of  his  spu  itual  career,  some  entries — gene- 
rally compunctious,  on  this  side  of  the  question ;  it  pre- 
sents correlatively  and  throughout,  iimumerable  records 
of  the  most  delicate  and  affectionate  expressions  of  filial 
admiration  as  well  as  respect.  "  24th  January  ;  at  family 
prayer,  tliis  evening,  the  close  of  the  week,  my  soul  was 
well  watered.  My  father  returned  thanks  most  beautifully 
for  the  mercies  of  the  past  year,  which  was  spent  in  Lower 
Mount-street ;  and  most  pathetically  implored  Jehovah  to 
dwell  with  us  in  this  house,  not  as  a  transient  guest,  but 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


71 


as  a  stationary  friend.  In  surveying  the  past  year,  I  am 
lost  in  thought ;  the  arm  of  the  Almighty  has  been  made 
bare  on  our  behalf,  and  has  wrought  irdiaculous  dehver- 
ances  for  us.  We  have  known  the  want  of  bread  last 
year,  and  yet  in  this  state  our  necessity  proved  the  Lord's 
opportunity.  Oh,  my  Father,  if  my  soul  ever  forget 
Thee,  may  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning  !  Oh  !  that 
all  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  liis  wondrous  works, 
and  for  his  loving  kindness  to  the  children  of  men.  For 
my  own  part,  my  heart  is  this  evening  ready  to  burst  with 
a  gust  of  his  praise — glory  !  glory  !  glory  !" — "  25th  Jan. 
Sunday.  This  being  the  first  morning  in  our  new  abode, 
and  also  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  own  day,  my  dear 
parent  dedicated  it  to  His  service,  whose  it  properly  was. 
My  soul  was  melted  down,  and  I  hope  received  more  of  the 
heavenly  mould.  I  remarked  that  my  father  was  specially 
ihankful  to  God  for  afflictions — nay,  he  even  prayed  to  be 
tarther  chastised  if  God  saw  it  expedient,  that  he  might 
be  drawn  nearer  and  nearer  to  his  Father.  How  imlike 
many  professors,  who  repine  at  these  things — and  even  I, 
oh,  what  a  lesson  have  I  to  learn  !" 

It  is  painful  to  shade  so  beautiful  a  picture  of  family 
1  ehgion,  with  the  following  passage,  referring  to  the  evenmg 
of  the  same  day  :  "11  o'clock,  arrived  home — the  family 
all  in  bed.  And  now,  a  scene  occurred,  which  stole  from 
me  every  blessing  I  had  got  to  day.  Satan  truly  presented 
himself  to  me  as  an  angel  of  hght  in  this  temptation. — 
My  father  reproved  me  for  being  out  until  so  late  an  hour. 


72 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


and  threatened  the  consequences  if  I  continued  in  the 
practice.  It  was  suggested  to  my  mind  by  the  author  of 
all  evil,  that  I  was  suffering  for  the  cause  of  Christ? 
The  bait  was  weU  gilded  !  I  swallowed  it !  With  this  idea, 
I  returned  some  very  improper  answers  to  my  dear  parent, 
which  wounded  him  in  the  tenderest  part :  he  not  knowing 
that  I  was  connected  with  any  prayer  meeting." 

For  the  first  time  since  his  conversion,  he  retired  to  rest 
without  prayer ;  and  rose  at  seven  next  morning,  "  but 
could  not  pray  !"  He  felt  that  he  had  grieved  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  saw  that  he  had  fallen  :  and  his  compunctious  * 
visitations  derived  an  additional  pang  from  the  fact,  that 
although  it  was  his  duty  to  have  apologized  to  his  father 
— his  father  almost  apologized  to  him.  His  mind  was  in 
a  most  abject  and  distressed  state ;  he  felt  he  had  suffered 
loss  in  his  soul ;  and  could  not  even  bring  his  mind  to 
go  to  his  class  in  the  evening,  but  early  retired  to  bed.  In 
a  dream  of  the  night  he  was  particularly  impressed  with 
this  passage :  "  If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with 
the  Father,  even  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  He  rose 
early  next  morning,  convinced  that  this  was  a  monition 
from  God  ;  took  courage,  and  instantly  set  about  recover- 
ing the  happiness  he  had  lost.  He  attended  the  Soldier's 
prayer-ineeting  in  the  evening,  "  and  again  tasted  that  the 
Lord  was  gracious." 

On  the  31st  of  January,  he  writes  thus  : — "  This  is  my 
birth-day.    When  I  take  a  survey  of  the  mercies  of  my 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


73 


past  life,  and  consider  my  poor  returns,  I  am  simk  in  the 
deepest  humility  before  ray  God  and  Father.  But  I  now 
give  myself  anew  to  his  service;  I  feel  I  am  not  my  own; 
and  as  I  am  this  day  at  that  maturity  which  the  world 
calls  of  age,  when  we  cease  to  be  children,  I  am  fully  deter- 
mined to  cease  to  be  a  child  of  the  devil's  any  longer. — 
My  father  gave  me  most  loving  advice  to  day.  Oh !  may 
I  improve  by  so  good  precepts." 

o  10 


74 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTION  V. 

/Studies  incessantly — thinks  about  the  Christian  ministry — 
health  very  delicate — religious  experience — ardent  piety — 
dreams. 

The  man  who  illustrates  by  his  own  practice,  a  mode 
of  cultivation  by  which  two  acres  of  giound  may  be  made 
to  produce  twice  as  much  as  they  did  before,  is  really  a 
greater  benefactor  to  mankind,  than  he  who  shall  discover 
an  island  of  two  thousand  acres  extent,  with  but  little 
prospect  of  its  ever  being  cultivated  to  any  good  purpose 
at  all.  So,  the  individual,  whose  religious  experience  ex- 
hibits most  expUcitly  and  successfully  the  progress  of 
that  growth  in  grace,  and  the  manifestation  of  those 
"  fruits  of  righteousness" — that  "  peace  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  which  are  expected  to  distinguish  every 
true  believer  in  Christ  Jesus, — such  individual  does  more 
towards  recommending  the  cultivation  of  evangehcal  vir- 
tue among  mankind,  than  he  who  presents  unsuspected 
peculiarities  of  christian  character.  In  the  moral  as  in 
the  material  world,  there  exist,  doubtless,  immense  tracts 
of  terra  incognita ;  but  both,  in  a  certain  sense,  appear  to 
have  their  hmits:  and  it  is  as  frequently  the  case  that  great 
men  are  the  creatures  of  circumstances,  as  that  they  are 
the  volimtary  creators  of  their  own  high  destinies.  L 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


75 


Summerfield  had  been  born  in  the  dawn  of  Chiistianity, 
he  miglit  have  been  an  apostle  ; — a  century  or  two  later, 
and  he  might  have  won  the  crown  of  martyrdom  ; — the 
contemporary  of  Luther,  and  he  might  have  been  a  refor- 
mer :  on  the  other  hand,  had  Columbus  been  the  contem- 
porary of  Cooke,  he  might,  hke  him,  have  circmnnavigated 
the  globe,  and,  with  liim,  have  discovered  sundry  groups 
of  islands  in  the  vast  Pacific  ; — a  hundred  years  later,  and 
he  might,  with  Parry,  have  penetrated  towards  the  pole. 
It  is  said  might,  in  the  foregoing  assumptions,  because  in 
both  cases  the  spirit  was  the  same,  but  its  operation  was 
limited  as  well  as  modified  by  circumstances.  A  greater 
than  Columbus  may  be  born,  but  the  world  probably  does 
not  contain  an  unexplored  tract  large  enough  to  immor- 
talize his  discovery  :  a  greater  than  St.  Paul  may  be  con- 
verted, but  (and  with  reverence  be  it  spoken)  Christianity 
has  not  an  untilled  field  equal  to  that  which  lay  before  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

These  remarks  are  suggested,  perhaps  gratuitously 
enough,  by  the  acknowledged  fact,  that  the  Diary  of  Mr. 
Summerfield,  although  rich  in  the  memorials  of  happy 
experience,  must  nevertheless  be  regarded  as  comparatively 
poor  in  incident.  This  lack  of  what  the  world  looks  for 
as  "  spirit-stirring"  matter,  is  abundantly  compensated  to 
the  christian  reader,  by  the  very  circumstance  of  its  details 
consisting  mainly  of  what  may  be  deemed  the  every  day 
trials  of  faith  and  patience,  and  overflowings  of  love  and 
gratitude,  which  self  observers,  who  converse  much  with 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


their  own  hearts,  know  well  how  to  appreciate  in  one 
another.  Nor  is  it  perhaps  either  quite  fair  to  the  subject, 
nor  absolutely  required  by  honesty,  to  concede  even  so 
much.  Events,  which,  from  their  rarity  or  romance  of 
occurrence,  or  .the  magnitude  of  their  operations,  are  so 
absorbing  in  many  narratives  of  merely  worldly  interest, 
have  nevertheless,  in  most  cases,  but  a  fugitive  impression ; 
while  in  that  little  world  of  thought  and  feehng,  which 
lies  within  the  circumference  of  every  human  heart,  there 
are  incidents  perpetually  transpiring,  unobserved  by  the 
great  world  without,  but  which  are  of  xmiversal  interest, 
either  as  developing  moral  plienomena,  or  as  connecting 
generally  with  the  hopes,  the  fears,  the  joys  and  the  sor- 
rows, the  aims  and  the  enterprises  of  all  mankind. 

It  has  already  been  intimated,  how  assiduously  and 
imremittingly  Mr.  Summerfield,  at  this  time,  apphed  him- 
self to  the  systematic  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  usual  expositors  of  sacred  literature. 
Under  the  date  of  Feb.  12,  1818,  he  writes — "This  day, 
I  purpose  getting  a  flint  and  steel,  as  my  fire  is  so  often  out, 
that  I  am  obhged  to  he  in  bed  till  day-hght,  as  was  the 
case  this  morning."  On  what  small  things  frequently 
depend  our  convenience,  our  happiness,  nay,  the  most  im- 
portant issues  of  hfe  itself  !  The  purchase  of  a  flint  and 
steel,  for  a  few  pence,  added  at  least  two  hours  to  his  day, 
during  the  winter  months.  Time  is  often  cheaply  sold, — 
sold  for  nought ; — here  it  was  cheaply  bought ;  the  value 
of  the  bargain  to  Summerfield,  he  now  knows  far  better 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


77 


than  he  did  at  the  time,  highly  as  he  prized  it ;  for  every 
moment  well  employed  on  earth,  has  its  record  and  its  reward 
in  eternity.  How  much  his  usefuhiess  on  earth  may  have 
been  improved  by  this  recovery  of  time,  (the  most  precious 
talent,  next  to  the  grace  of  God  to  use  it  well.)  it  is  vain  to 
speculate  now.  But  let  nobody  who  reads  of  this  simple 
incident,  despise  it ;  let  nobody  be  afraid  or  ashamed  to  go 
and  do  hkewise, — to  go  and  buy  as  much  time  by  the  sa- 
crifice of  sixpence,  or  the  sacrifice  only  of  an  idle  habit,  or  a 
mischievous  indulgence,  as  wiU  purchase  much  temporal, 
spiritual,  and  eternal  enjoyment.  It  appears  that  he  was 
now  in  the  habit  of  rising  between  four  and  five  in  the  morn- 
ing to  his  studies,  and  rarely  retiring,  vmtil  near  midnight. 

"  Feb.  13. — ("After  private  prayer,  house  matters,  an  hour 
and  a  half  studjdng  Romans.)  Read  Young's  Night 
Thoughts  till  ten  ;  breakfast,  &c.  till  quarter  past  ten, 
when  I  resumed  studying  Romans  unceasingly  till  half 
past  12.  Recreated  in  domestic  affairs  till  one  o'clock. 
Resumed  and  continued  unremittingly  until  a  quEirter 
before  tliree  ;  dined,  &c.  «fec. ;  half  past  three  again  resum- 
ed the  Romans,  at  which  continued  until  half  past  five, 
with  an  intermission  of  half  an  hour,  during  which  tmie  my 
beloved  Jolm,  my  [class]  leader,  visited  me.  Half  past  five 
to  half  past  six,  prepared  to  go  out,  domestic  afiaiis,  and 
private  prayer ;  then  went  to  the  soldier's  prayer  meeting  ; 
from  which  I  returned  a  quarter  before  eight:  then  supper, 
and  from  half  past  eight  to  half  past  ten  studied  Prideaux's 
(Connexions,  vol.  3.  My  father  not  come  home,  alarmed 
g2 


78 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


me,  and  so  unhinged  my  mind,  that  I  could  read  no  more  : 
I  sent  the  children  to  bed,  and  spent  an  hour  in  prayer  to 
God,  and  serious  self-examination.  About  half  past  eleven, 
my  father  came  in,  and  at  twelve  I  went  to  bed.  I  watered 
my  pillow  with  tears  of  love  to  my  sweet  Jesus,  and  closed 
my  eyes  as  if  in  his  arms."  The  foregoing  is  a  fair  sam- 
ple of  his  diurnal  occupations  at  this  period,  especially  if  we 
add  to  it,  the  reading  of  Boss's  Antiquities  of  Greece,  and 
such  items  as  the  following  : — "  My  father  then  came  in ; 
dined,  and  spent  an  hour  in  conversing  with  him  on  7th 
Romans." 

Amidst  these  notices  of  intense  study,  of  almost  every 
spare  moment  gathered  up  for  communion  with  God  ;  at- 
tendance at  preaching,  and  prayer  meetings,  at  regular 
seasons,  or  when  opportunities  occurred, — it  is  painful  still 
to  learn,  that  he  "  came  home  (at  half  past  ten)  and  was 
censured  again  for  late  hours."  At  the  recurrence  of  such 
entries,  this  question  naturally  obtrudes  itself : — Did  not  his 
.father  yet  know  that  he  was  connected  with  the  prayer 
meetings  1  If  he  did — why  is  the  son  so  often  censured  for 
being  so  much,  and  so  long,  and  it  may  be  supposed,  so 
•{jrofitably  engaged  in  them  ?  If  he  did  not  know,  did  he 
not  inquire  how  his  son  spent  his  evenings  out  till  such  late 
hours  ?  Perhaps  we  ought  to  allow  a  father  so  peculiarly 
circumstanced,  the  benefit  of  an  hope,  that  if  he  erred  in 
being  too  strict  in  this  matter,  it  was  an  error  on  the  side 
of  christian  as  well  as  paternal  prudence. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


79 


The  aspirations  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  mind  were  almost 
exclusively  turned  towards  the  work  of  God,  and  his  ardour 
in  devotional  exercises  was  so  absorbing,  that  the  interven- 
tion of  merely  secular  duties  was  not  only  cold  and  uninter- 
esting, but  frequently  regarded  as  dampmg  his  spiritual 
enjoyment.  Indeed,  the  following  entries  shew  with  what 
reluctance  he  engaged  in  worldly  conversation.  "  Prayer 
meeting  in  Park-Gate  street ;  Jesus  was  as  good  as  liis 
promise ;  we  were  all  blessed.    When  I  came  home,  my 

father  chid  me  for  my  neglect  in  and  's  busuiess ; 

my  mind  was  so  unhinged,  I  could  not  study  for  some  time ; 
however,  we  had  family  prayer,"  &,c. — "  Went  over  to  the 
Marshal's,  where  I  was  detained  on  business  till  near  one.  I 

then  called  on  Wm.  in    street,  and  was  pressed 

into  the  parlour,  where  were  two  ladies,  in  whose  company  I 
spent  two  hours — I  feel  it  was  wrong — my  soul  suffered 
loss  by  it."  How  tender  was  his  conscience  I  Few  persons 
could  see  any  sm  in  spending  two  hours  in  respectable  so- 
ciety ;  nor  perhaps  was  it  otherwise  wrong,  than  as  he  fdt 
it  so  much  time  lost  from  coimiimiion  with  God.  How 
few  even  of  his  fathers  in  the  gospel  would  have  manifested 
such  sensibility  !  and  to  how  many  who  might  be  disposed 
to  chide  hun  for  it  as  a  weakness,  might  the  young  disciple 
reply,  in  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  when  tweh  e  years  of 
age,  "  Wist  ye  not  tliat  I  must  be  about  my  father's  busi- 
ness March  1. — In  the  morning,  after  having  spent 
iliree /lours  in  self-examination  and  prayer,  he  writes,  "I 
look  for  a  special  blessing  from  heaven  to  day."  In  the 
forenoon — "  My  soul  is  like  liquid  gold  this  morning  :  it  is 


80 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


softened  by  love, — Oh  !  Father !  now  lay  on  thy  blessed 
seal!"    At  11  o'clock,  "went  to  Sunday  school,  which  I 

opened  by  prayer — came  away  along  with  and  , 

but  I  find  an  unspeakable  loss  in  my  soul  in  consequence ; 
their  conversation  was  of  that  loose  and  almost  indecorous 
nature,  that  I  find  I  have  lost  my  centre  by  mixing  with 
them,  and  [am]  quite  imfit  for  religious  duties."    Again  : 

"  Went  to  's,  on  business  for  my  father  ;  they  are  an 

ungodly  family  ;  I  have  lost  by  my  visit ;  a  lady  was  there, 
who  compelled  me  to  write  an  acrostic  extempore, — I  was 
to  blame  for  yielding." — Next  morning  he  exclaims,  "  Oh, 
that  I  had  not  paid  that  worldly  visit  last  night."  Thus 
anxious  was  he  to  respect  that  excellent  mle  of  Methodistic 
discipline : — "  Be  serious  ;  let  your  motto  be  Holiness  to  the 
Lord.    Avoid  all  lightness,  jesting,  and  foolish  talking." 

At  this  period  his  health  was  very  dehcate ;  and  he  was 
especially  subject  to  a  grievous  head  ache :  this,  united 
with  the  intensity  of  his  studies,  and  the  apparent  necessity 
that  existed  for  him  to  set  about  helpuig  his  father  in  some 
way,  induced  him  to  think  of  giving  up  the  management 
of  prayer  meetings  ;  and,  for  some  reason  which  does  not. 
so  clearly  appear,  his  attendance  at  class  also ;  still,  how- 
ever, he  resolved  to  continue  to  pray  that  he  might  know 
the  will  of  God  concerning  him,  and  especially  with  re- 
ference to  the  ministry. 

Having  experienced  considerable  relief  to  his  head,  in 
consequence  of  following  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley,  who. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMEEFIELD. 


81 


luider  similar  circumstances,  consented  to  have  his  long 
hair  cut  off — he  still  continued  his  usual  attendance  at  the 
means  of  grace.  In  one  instance,  he  observes,  "  I  gave  the 
whole  five  shillings  [part  of  which  was  borrowed]  to  my 
class ;  whether  right  or  wrong,  I  know  not ;  but  my  poor 
heart  pitied  Zion — Only  six  members  attended  it.  I  was 
quite  dispirited,  and  got  no  blessing  under  the  means — my 
mind  is  now,  on  this  account,  fully  removed  from  all 
thoughts  of  the  Ministry  ;  and  I  informed  my  father  that 
I  was  bent  on  assisting  him  at  his  business."  This  is, 
apparently,  the  first  time  of  his  naming  the  ministry  as  an 
object  of  contemplation  with  him  ;  but  it  is  evidently  a 
memorandum  of  only  one  of  the  confiicts  in  his  mind  on 
this  point,  and  the  desponding  result  of  many  a  previous 
one.  God,  however,  whose  thoughts  are  not  as  our 
thoughts,  and  whose  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  so  far  from 
being  about  to  desert  his  faithful  servant  to  the  errors  of 
his  own  imagination,  appears  rather  by  tliis  process  to 
have  been  humbling  him  preparatory  to  the  display  of 
more  distinguishing  spiritual  revelations. 

On  the  Sunday  following,  he  went  to  the  fellowship  meet- 
ing in  Gravel  Walk  ;  "  a  better  time  was  never  remembered ; 
several  were  set  at  liberty  ;  I  sang,  prayed,  and  exhorted, — 
my  cup  did  indeed  run  over."  Next  evening  he  adds — 
"  Went  to  my  class ;  I  am  astonished  at  the  goodness  of  God ! 
He  makes  my  cup  run  over  :  I  concluded  by  prayer,  and  the 
Lord  owned  me  wonderfully  ;  many  declared  it  was  the  best 
•class  we  ever  had. — God  can  raise  up  stones  to  praise  him." 
11 


82 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Mr.  Sunimerfield,  from  his  childhood  upward,  manifested  a 
disposition  the  reverse  of  stoical,  and  this  he  mainly  inhe- 
rited from  lais  father.  Strong  feelings  were  famiUar  to 
him.  High  enjoyments  or  deep  distress.  His  cup  running 
over  with  sweetness,  or  with  bitterness.  These  very 
frames,  so  exquisitely  quick  to  feel  and  to  be  moved  by 
every  touch  of  joy  or  woe,  gave  his  whole  subsequent  life 
(especially  in  his  ministerial  labours)  its  pecuhar  character, 
and  constituted  liim  the  preaciier,  who  could,  by  sympathy, 
raise  the  most  powerful  and  passionate  emotions  in  his 
audiences. 

The  exercises  of  his  mind  were  at  this  time  very  vio- 
lent,— feeling,  as  he  did,  a  desire  to  be  devoted  wholly  to 
the  service  of  God,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  necessity  laid 
upon  him  to  give  more  of  his  attention  to  some  kind  of 
secular  labour.  Still,  however,  he  clung  close  to  the  rock 
of  his  help  :  toward  the  middle  of  March,  he  thus  records 
his  lamentation  and  his  resolution  : — "  How  Uttle  have  I 
studied  in  the  past  week  !  I  am  resolved  to  give  new  edge 
to  my  exertions." 

"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find," 
is  the  language  of  Him  who  holds  the  dispensation  of  all 
spiritual  blessings ;  and  Siimmerfield  was  not  one  who 
pleaded  coldly  or  unbelievmgly  for  any  of  the  precious 
promises  of  the  gospel ;  and  on  this  occasion,  especiaJly,  he 
experienced  a  new  and  deep  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Being  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  with  a  few  other  religious 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


83 


persons,  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  he  writes: — "I  was 
never  in  my  Ufe  possessed  of  such  feeUngs.  While  sitting 
in  silence,  the  words, '  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlast- 
ing love,'  flashed  into  my  mind  in  so  sweet  a  manner,  that 
I  could  not  contain ;  I  burst  into  tears ;  all  wondered  at  the 
cause  ;  a  Hymn  book  was  handed  me  ;  I  sung  and 
prayed ;  and  that  night  I  received  an  unction  from  the 
Holy  One !  Glory  be  to  Jesus  !"  When  he  awoke  next 
morning,  he  "  foimd  the  fire  alive  within — the  love  was 
binning."  At  half  past  six  he  went  to  the  prayer  meet- 
ing, where,  says  he,  "my  soul  was  so  overpowered  with  the 
love  of  Jesus  that  I  wept  amain.  I  w£is  often  inclined  to 
go  out,  that  I  might  roai-  out  the  pantings  of  my  soul. — 
For  the  first  time,  dear  brother  M'Dowall  called  on  me  to 
pray.  I  scarcely  could  utter  words  for  weeping  ;  but  my 
heart  was  frill — full — fuU  ;  many  will  remember  the 
morning." 

The  habitual  tendency  of  his  soul  towards  the  object  of 
Its  supreme  love,  is  strikingly  indicated  by  such  entries 
as  the  following  : — "  Being  alone,  I  snatched  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  spent  half  an  hour  in  secret  intercourse  wnth 
heaven.  Oh !  that  I  could  pray  always  !  3  to  5,  imceas- 
ingly  studied  Taylor's  Key.  Being  again  left  alone,  I 
snatched  another  half  hour  to  converse  with  my  Beloved." 
— "  My  sisters  went  out,  and  Jesus  did  certainly  spend 
those  three  hours  with  me."  What  blessed  opportunities 
were  these  to  him,  when  the  members  of  the  family  were 
all  absent,  and  he  was  left  alone — yet  was  he  not  alone, 


94  MEMOIRS  OP  THE 

for  Jesus  made  his  sweetest  visits  to  him  then ;  as  himself 
testifies : — "  My  sisters  are  gone  to  spend  the  day  out. 
and  I  am  alone  with  Jesus." 

Summerfield  watched — lay  in  wait,  as  it  were — for 
special  opportunities  for  private  devotion,  when  he  could 
uninterruptedly  cry  aloud  in  prayer  to  God.  How  much 
have  they  to  answer  for  to  their  own  souls,  who  never  enter 
into  their  closets,  shut  too  the  door,  and  then  pray  to  their 
Father  which  seeth  in  secret ; — or  if  they  do,  slink  from 
secular  engagements  to  this  duty  as  to  a  task,  and  come 
away,  not  hghtened  of  a  burthened  conscience,  but  as 
released  from  a  necessary  penance  to  keep  conscience  quiet 
under  its  burthen.  O  what  a  mercy  it  is  to  feel  that  burthen 
intolerable  !  to  lie  down  under  it  at  the  Redeemer's  feet, 
like  the  woman  who  was  a  sinner,  and  though  we  speak 
not  a  word  for  shame  and  sorrow,  determine  never  to  rise 
again,  till  he  says,  "Thy  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven 
thee  :" — at  least,  never  till  we  know  that  we  are  sincerely, 
and  with  our  whole  heart,  asking  the  blessing,  and  beUeving 
that  we  shall  have  it  according  to  our  faith,  in  the  Lord's 
time.  That  time  indeed  is  now — for  all  his  time  is  noun, 
who  is  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,"  but 
sometimes  ours  is  "  not  yet."  Even  then  when  he  comes 
to  deliver,  He  may  say  to  us,  with  the  rebuke  of  kindness, 
— "  O  ye  of  little  faith,  why  did  ye  doubt  ?" 

A  few  miscellaneous  entries  from  his  Diary  at  this  time, 
may  be  with  propriety  introduced  here.     "  Spent  two 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


85 


hours  in  reading  Clarke,  and  discoursing  on  it  with  my 
father,  from  whom  I  received  more  hght  than  from  the 
Doctor."  This  able  commentary  was  a  great  favourite 
with  him,  and  "  unceasingly  studied"  at  this  time.  The 
truly  spiritual  writings  of  Fletcher,  however,  were  still 
more  deeply  intteresting  to  him,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to 
suppose,  that  his  whole  soul  and  character  received  a  very 
powerful  bent  from  the  contemplation  of  the  personal  as 
well  as  the  polemical  sanctity  of  tliis  able  and  pious  author. 
He  devoied  some  time  to  the  "  learning  of  short  hand, 
trusting  that  it  might  be  of  use,"  and  hkewise  "exercised  on 
the  Piano."  His  taste  for  music  had  been  cherished,  if 
not  contracted,  at  the  Moravian  seminary;  and  might 
justly  be  so,  as  an  accomphsliment  not  without  many 
advantages  to  a  preacher.  With  reference  to  stenography, 
lie  appears  either  not  to  have  studied  it  successfully,  or  to 
liave  abandoned  it  as  inconvenient  in  practice,  as  no  traces 
of  it  are  observable  among  his  papers — a  cucumstance  of 
no  regret  to  his  biographer,  who,  whatever  be  his  opinion 
of  its  utihty  in  many  cases,  feels  glad  that  he  is  absolved 
from  the  task  of  decyphering  it  in  this.  "March  22, 
went  to  Werberg's  church,  and  for  the  first  time,  receivv»d 
the  memorials  of  the  death  of  my  Lord. — It  was  to  me  a 
most  solemn  occasion,  and  I  could  indeed  feehngly  say 
with  the  poet : — 

'  My  Jesus  to  know,  and  feel  his  blood  flow, 
'Tis  life  everlasting— 'tis  heaven  below.' " 
H 


86 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Being  invited  to  take  breakfast  out,  he  observes  : — "  As  I 
purposed  this  day  to  mortify  the  body,  I  took  two  cups  of 
tea  ;  afterwards  was  called  on  to  pray — all  the  family  were 
assembled."  At  noon,  he  adds,  after  studying  for  two 
hours  Clarke  on  the  Hebrews — "  The  family  then  going 
to  dine,  I  walked  out  pursuant  to  my  design,  and  went  to 
the  Park ;  having  found  a  sequestered  spot,  I  wrestled 
Avith  God  till  near  4  o'clock,  and  was  greatly  blessed. 
Returned  home,  and  after  domestic  matters,  T  went  to  the 
Soldier's  meeting,  where  I  sung  and  prayed."  After  read- 
ing the  foregoing  memorial  of  his  fast,  and  when  we  re- 
collect that  his  retirement  to  the  Park  was  in  the  cold 
month  of  March,  we  cannot,  without  being  affected,  meet 
with  the  following  item  about  a  fortnight  afterwards : 
"  April  12 — This  is  my  dear  father's  birth  day,  aged  48. — 
Dined  on  cocoa,  as  we  had  no  money.  It  is  nmch  better 
than  we  deserve." 

"  April  10.  I  have  had  a  strange  dream  about  the 

preachers,  in  which  and  were  concerned — I  regard 

it  as  a  mission  from  God  to  me  ;" — the  night  following, — 
"I  dreamed  that  Mr.  Cobain  came  to  me,  and  remarked  that 
it  would  be  better,  if  I  would  get  a  coat,  &c.  of  a  more 
suitable  colour  for  the  work  of  God.  What  can  I  do  ?  I 
have  no  means,  but  Jehovah  Jireh, — Jehovah  Jireh." 
Nearly  all  persons  dream  at  one  time  or  another,  and 
there  are  perhaps  but  few  who  do  not  pay  some  attention 
to  such  dreams  as  are  very  remarkable.  It  would,  indeed, 
as  little  argue  wisdom  in  a  man  of  God,  altogether  to  dis- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


87 


card,  as  implicitly  to  observe,  every  impression  made  upon 
the  mind  during  sleep  ; — wise  and  good  men  have  never 
acted  exclusively,  either  on  one  side  or  the  other.  Sum- 
merfield,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  blamed  for  paj-ing  some 
attention  to  that  phenomenon,  wliich  patriarchs,  prophets, 
apostles,  and  confessors  in  all  ages,  have  acknowledged  as 
one  of  the  modes  chosen  by  the  Almighty  for  the  com- 
munication of  liis  will.  "  For  God  speaketh  once,  yea 
twice,  yet  man  perceiveth  it  not.  In  a  dream,  in  a  vision 
of  the  night,  when  deep  sleep  faUeth  upon  men,  in  slum- 
berings  upon  the  bed  ;  then  he  openeth  the  ears  of  men, 
and  sealeth  their  instruction."*  The  fantastic  frivolity  of 
dreams  in  general,  need  no  more  prevent  a  holy  man  from 
attending  to  any  good  communication  wliicli  may  be  made 
to  him  in  his  sleep,  than  the  folly  of  the  waking  hours  of 
those  around  liim,  ought  to  deter  him  from  an  attempt  to 
counteract  their  eyt'Z  communications;  because,  being  "asleep 
in  their  sins,"  it  may  be  emphatically  said — <•  they  know 
not  what  they  do." 


*  Job  xxxiii.  ver.  14—16. 


88 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTIOJV  VI. 

Received  as  a  local  preacher — attention  to  domestic  duties — 
visits  for  the  "  Strang€r''s  Friend  Society" — anxieties  about 
his  ministerial  call — overtaken  with  a  fault — excessive  fast- 
ing— removal  to  Cork — entire  devotedness  to  God. 

We  now  come  to  contemplate  Mr.  Summerfield  in  his 
introduction  to  that  high  and  important  office,  which  had 
so  long  been  the  object  of  his  holy  ambition,  as  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  society — as  a  prayer  leader — as  an  ex- 
horter — as  a  visiter  of  the  sick — as  a  Sunday  school  teach- 
er— as  a  speaker  at  the  conversation  meetings  of  Christian 
brethren — as  a  class  leader — as  a  rich  and  fluent  scriptu- 
rist, — and  above  all,  as  a  young  man  of  fervent  piety,  and, 
considering  his  years,  of  deep  experience.  Mr.  Summerfield 
was  justly  esteemed  by  those  of  his  friends  who  were  best 
acquainted  with  him,  as  the  possessor  of  gifts  and  graces  far 
.above  the  ordinary  rank.  Wliile,  therefore,  his  youth,  and 
the  official  responsibility  of  his  elders,  justified  the  pru- 
dence exercised  toward  him ;  his  own  conduct,  from  the 
period  of  his  conversion  to  the  termination  of  his  hfe,  never 
afforded  a  single  incident  to  lead  any  individual  to  suspect, 
much  less  to  say,  that  his  elevation  had  been  too  precipi- 
tate, or  his  progress  too  rapid. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


89 


It  is  well  known  to  persons  acquainted  with  the  admirable 
cconomj-  of  the  Methodist  society,  that  between  the  de- 
scription of  persons,  whose  engagements  are  intimated  above, 
and  the  regularly  itinerating  ministers,  there  is  an  impor 
(ant  class  of  labourers,  designated  local  preachers  ;  mdividu- 
als  of  accredited  piety,  whose  mouths  God  has  opened  to 
call  sinners  to  repentance,  and  to  declare  to  them  the  sal 
ration  that  is  in  and  by  Jesus  Christ.  These  men,  un- 
learned as  they  often  are,  deserve  not  only  to  be  regarded 
with  honour  "  for  their  work's  sake,"  but  with  astonisliment. 
on  account  of  the  original  talents  and  uncoimnon  experi- 
ence which  many  of  them  possess.  Philosophy — or  even 
philosophical  religionists,  would  often  be  justly  surprised  to 
hear,  on  the  Sabbath  day,  men  who,  during  the  other  six 
days,  labour  incessantly  for  the  bread  that  perisheth, — to 
hear  such  men  eloquently  declare  from  the  pvdpit  the  won- 
derful works  of  God. 

In  this  rank  of  preachers,  therefore,  Mr.  Sununerfielfl 
took  his  place;  and  it  was  while  graduating  therein,  that 
his  pulpit  ministrations  attracted  toward  liim  such  unwont- 
ed popularity.  It  may,  however,  be  interesting  to  notice 
some  of  the  steps  by  which  he  ultimately,  as  a  regular 
preacher,  ascended  to  the  sacred  desk. 

He  had  frequently  delivered  brief,  and  occasionally  more 
lengthened  exhortations  at  prayer  meetings,  and  elsewhere, 
as  well  as  expatiated  upon  given  passages  of  Scripture,  at 
religious  "conversation  meetings;"  but  he  had  never  spoken 
h2  12 


90 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


publicly  from  any  text,  mitil  Thursday  morning,  April  23, 
1818,  when,  being  at  the  six  o'clock  services  at  Gravel 
Walk  Chapel,  in  Dublin,  he  was  called  upon  to  officiate 
in  a  more  formal  manner :  but  his  own  statement  of  the 
case,  made  only  for  his  private  infoi-mation,  and  in  the 
simplicity  of  his  heart,  will  be  acceptable : — "  Mr.  M'Dowall 
commenced  by  singing  and  prayer,  then  called  me  forward 
to  read  and  exhort;  I  never  spoke  before  from  any  passage 
in  the  word  of  God  ;  this,  then,  was  my  first  attempt.  I 
read  part  of  the  4th  chapter  of  PauVs  second  Epistle  to  Tim. 
My  master  was  with  me  ;  I  spoke  fluently,  and  though  I 
have  a  defect  in  my  speech,  I  felt  nothing  of  it — I  take  it 
to  be  a  token  of  good  frorr>  God.  '  Whatever  thou  hast 
for  me  to  do,  oh  !  prepare  me  for  it ;  only  make  me  a  holy 
Christian  !'  "  His  second  attempt  was  on  the  Monday  fol- 
lowing, at  the  same  chapel.  "  I  had,"sajs  he,  "to  carry 
on  the  meeting  alone — I  sang  twice,  prayed  twice,  and  ex- 
horted for  about  half  an  hour,  on  the  13th  and  14th  verses 
of  1st  chapter  of  Ephesians ;  this  is  my  second  attempt, 
though  this  was  more  immediately  in  the  form  of  a  sermon. 
I  felt  great  liberty,  and  I  hope  good  was  done."  After  a 
few  days  he  repeated  the  experiment  at  the  same  chape], 
preaching  from  Rev.  chap.  ii.  ver.  1-7. 

That  this  auspicious  advent  of  his  highest  hopes,  was 
jMt  unaccompanied  by  corresponding  trials,  will  sufficiently 
appear  from  the  following  passages  from  his  diary.  "  April 
15,  wrote  yesterday  to  Mr.  Jones,  applying  for  a  situation 
in  his  concerns — this  I  did  at  my  fatlier's  desire — I  am 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


91 


perfectly  resided ;  I  have  made  it  a  matter  of  prayer ;  I 
am  ill  the  hands  of  God  :  my  body  and  soul  are  both  his 
oAvn — let  him  do  what  seemeth  liim  good."'  Again ; 
'•  April  30,  my  father  came  home,  having  left  Jones's  em- 
ploy: what  has  God  now  in  store  for  us?  Is  his  fatherly 
hand  about  to  use  the  chastening  rod  again  ?  Father,  if  it 
be  possible,  avert  the  cup  ;  if  not,  thy  wiU  be  done  !  Amen. 
He  has  appointed  me  to  go  in  the  morning  to  Newtown 
park."  Again  ;  "  May  1,  I  went  to  Newtown  park  with 
my  father,  and  returned  at  half  past  6  this  evening.  This 
is  my  first  day's  work  for  many  years." 

As  the  fainily  were  in  very  straightened  cucumstances, 
while  they  resided  in  Leland,  an  emotion  of  surprise  may 
be  excited  during  the  pemsal  of  the  first  year  a,nd  a  half 
of  these  diurnal  entries,  that  amidst  all  the  memorandums 
of  morning,  noon,  and  evening  meals,  and  devotional  and 
studious  occupations,  he  seems  to  have  followed  no  regular 
employment,  as  a  clerk  or  otherwise,  tliough  he  often 
speaks  of  being  occasionally  so  engaged ;  as  for  instance  : 
"  June  8th,  from  the  18th  May  to  tliis  time,  I  have  been 
more  or  less  concerned  every  day  in  worldly  business,  and 
could  not  get  disentangled  therefrom."  Was  he,  it  will 
naturally  be  enquired  by  some,  all  this  time  a  bvirthen  of 
expenses  (in  no  other  respect  could  such  a  man  be  a  bui'- 
then  to  those  who  loved  him  best)  to  his  father  ?  To  this 
not  unreasonable  enquiry,  it  may  be  rephed,  first — it  is 
certain  that  upon  his  father  devolved  mainly  the  necessity 
of  supporting  Ids  son ;  which,  however,  there  is  no  reason 


92  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

to  believe  he  at  this  time  felt  to  be  burtheiisome.  Secondly, 
as  they  appear  to  have  kept  no  servant,  and  his  sisters 
being  too  young  to  be  entrusted  with  housekeeping,  he 
seems  not  only  to  have  attended  to  their  education,  but 
to  have  managed  entirely  the  domestic  affairs  of  their 
little  estabUshment — iimumerable  proofs  of  his  being  thus 
engaged  daily  while  at  home  occur  in  the  diary.  Thirdhj. 
he  did,  moreover,  occasionally  at  least,  employ  himself  in 
writing,  (fcc.  as  noticed  before.  Fourthly,  and  this  is  very 
important — so  far  from  being  idle,  in  any  sense  of  the 
word,  he  was  indefatigable  as  a  student  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  of  works  of  Theology  ;  aiid  Fifthly,  he  had 
a  strong,  an  abiding,  and  a  reasonable  presentiment,  that 
God  had  designed  him  for,  and  would  in  his  own  time  and 
way,  bring  him  into  the  ministry.  These  remarks  are 
not  made  with  the  view  of  justifying  at  all  a  similar  course 
in  any  other  individual ;  much  less  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
ducing any  other  young  man  to  adopt  a  hke  conduct ; — 
Init  merely  for  the  requisite  purpose  of  showing,  that  if 
Mr.  Summerfieid  was  led  by  his  peculiar  circumstances  to 
pursue  a  line  of  conduct  in  this  respect,  which,  according 
to  the  usual  arrangements  of  piovidence,  some  might 
regard  as  an  exception  to  the  general  rule,  the  result,  in  his 
case,  justified  the  experiment. 

It  is  pleasant,  however,  to  turn  from  these  onerous  ex- 
tenuations of  his  conduct  in  one  particular  relation,  to  the 
gratifying  fact,  that  having  found  access  to  the  pulpit,  and 
Acceptance  among  the  preachers,  he  resolved  to  devote 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


93 


himself  with  double  dihgence  to  secure  the  richer  and 
more  abundant  outpourings  of  the  spirit  of  God  upon  his 
own  soul.  For  instance  : — "  May  6th,  rose  at  5,  and  retued 
into  the  garden  for  meditation  and  prayer,  which  occupied 
me  an  hour.  I  find  I  should  grow  in  grace  more,  if  I 
prayed  in  private  more  ;  all  the  public  means  of  grace  will 
not  compensate  me  in  this  respect.  By  the  grace  of  God, 
and  relying  on  his  divine  aid,  I  purpose  begmning  from 
this  day  to  pray  in  private  five  times  every  day."  How- 
ever improbable  it  may  be  that  he  should  have  long  kept 
such  a  resolution,  or  questionable  the  propriety  of  having 
vowed  to  keep  it  at  aU,  it  appears  from  subsequent  Edlusion, 
that  it  was  observed  by  hmi  at  least  for  some  time  with 
rehgious  scrupulosity,  and  corresponding  advantage. 
Every  thing  done  faitlifully  to  the  Lord  hath  its  peculiar 
reward. 

They  who  have  most  largely  experienced  the  influences 
of  the  grace  of  God,  and  consequently  discovered  most 
deeply  the  innate  corruption  of  their  own  hearts — are 
alone  able  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  those  tempta- 
tions from  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  to  which  a 
spirit  seeking  to  increase  in  hoUness  is  pecuharly  exposed. 
To  such  only,  will  the  following  sentence  be  at  all  intel- 
ligible, occurring,  as  it  does,  amidst  notices  of  prayer,  almost 
literally  "  without  ceasing,"  and  the  most  umemitting  ex- 
ertions for  the  salvation  of  souls: — "Unceasing  meditation 
on  the  word  of  God — Private  prayer — and  self-examina- 


94 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


tion  ill  the  presence  of  God— Oh,  my  sins  of  Omission, 
Omission,  Omission. 

'Lord,  grant  me  mercy  for  the  past, 
And  grace  for'  time  to  come.' " 

Such  was  the  daily  practice — such  the  ingenuous  confes- 
sion of  the  conscientious  John  Summerfield,  wlien  a  chris- 
tian of  httle  more  than  twelve  months  standing.  "  Who 
then  is  that  faithful  and  wise  servant,  whom  his  Lord 
when  he  cometh  shall  find  so  doing  ?" — that  he  shall  not 
have  occasion,  not  only  to  say,  "  I  am  an  unprofitable  ser- 
vant, I  have  done  only  that  which  it  was  my  duty  to  do," 
— but  rather  to  cry  "  Omission,  Omission,  Omission  !" 

Sunday  morning,  June  14th,  half  past  8,  "  came  home 
(from  preaching ;)  my  mind  was  in  an  unusually  happy 
frame  this  morning  ;  I  could  weep  aU  the  day  long  ;  I  fear 
some  temptation  is  at  hand — I  could  scarcely  restram  my 
feehngs  under  family  prayer.  I  retired  immediately  to 
the  garden,  and  such  a  sweet  powerful  time  of  prayer  I 
don't  reiTfiember."  This  is  a  very  toucliing  scene  of  per- 
sonal experience  :  but  still,  amidst  this  rush  of  happy  feel- 
ing, a  still  small  voice  whispered,  "  Rejoice  with  trembling:" 
he  Avas  so  happy,  that  he  feared  some  temptation  was  near. 
These  are  delicate  but  perilous  feelings ;  and  we  shall  often 
be  discouraged  if  we  measure  oui-  love  and  faith  by  the 
sensible  measure  of  peace  that  passeth  understanding,  and 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  which  are  permitted 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELU. 


95 


oiily  as  occasional  antepasts  of  heaven,  while  we  are  tia- 
vellmg  through  thorns  and  briars  in  a  world  yet  under  the 
primal  curse, — though,  wherever  that  curse  hath  reached, 
blessed  by  the  footsteps  of  the  second  man,  the  Lord  from 
heaven,  who  is  with  his  servants  alway  and  every  where, 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  when  they  preach  the 
gospel. 

Candour,  however,  requires  that  it  be  added,  that  the  day 
alluded  to  at  the  couunencement  of  the  preceding  paragraph, 
terminated  with  an  incident  much  less  pleasing  than  that 
wliich  characterized  its  beginning.  After  a  day  spent  in 
religious  duties,  he  remained  with  a  pious  friend  until  near 
11  o'clock,  after  which  he  returned  home,  and  "was locked 
out — Lay  at  an  Inn  this  night."  AUusion  has  been  pre- 
viously made  to  a  mischance  of  this  kind — there  is  how- 
ever no  subsequent  instance  of  its  repetition.  It  was 
indeed  an  early  hour,  at  which  to  be  locked  out.  Such 
strict  family  discipline  within  doors  could  hardly  be  right 
in  this  case,  since  it  exposed  those  who  were  unfortimately 
out  of  doors  when  the  key  turned,  to  inconvenience,  ex- 
pense, temptation,  danger,  and  perhaps  scandal  as  professors 
of  religion.  It  would  be  unjustifiable  to  blame  the  father 
for  this  exercise  of  parental  authority — but  oh  !  what 
would  many  fathers,  who  have  not  such  sons  as  Summer- 
field,  give  to  open  the  door  to  their  children  of  dissipation 
at  no  later  an  hour  ?  Three  days  afterward,  in  accounting 
as  usual  for  all  his  tune,  he  incidentally  writes  : — 10 
o'clockj  "  came  home  and  staid  up  for  my  father  till  1 1 


96 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


o'clock — then  retired,  after  private  prayer  to  my  God." 
He  did  not  lock  his  father  out. 

Amongst  other  pious  engagements  which  about  this 
period  occupied  the  attention  of  Mr.  Summerfield,  was 
that  of  taking  appointments  on  behalf  of  the  "  Stranger's 
Friend  Society."  This  praise-worthy  institution,  so  admi- 
rably calculated  to  exercise  the  gifts  and  graces  of  a 
zealous  convert,  was  estabhshed  in  DubUn  by  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  in  the  year  1790,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  and 
reheving  strangers  in  distress,  as  weU  as  the  resident  in- 
dustrious and  sick  poor  of  every  denomination  throughout 
the  city  and  its  vicinity  ;  and  of  accompanying  their  visits 
with  small  gifts  of  money,  reUgious  instruction,  and  prayer. 
The  Society  continues  in  operation  to  this  day,  and  its 
agents  are  aU  members  of  the  methodist  society,  and  con- 
sist of  three  classes,  viz.  Local  Preachers — Exhorters — and 
those  who  have  the  gift  of  public  prayer.  By  the  sub- 
scriptions and  donations  of  the  pubUc  to  this  work  of  mere)-, 
the  managers  are  enabled  to  distribute  about  five  hundred 
pounds  per  annum — sometimes  more.  The  field  of  labour 
opened  by  this  society  attracted  Sunmierfield  soon  after 
his  conversion  : — "  I,  who  am  myself  only  a  stranger  in 
Dubhn,  am  anxious  to  become  a  stranger's  friend,"  said 
he ;  and  the  salutary  discipline  wliich  he  therein  experi- 
enced, quite  justified  the  following  sentiments  in  a  letter 
from  his  esteemed  friend  and  class-leader— Patrick  French: 
— "I  am  very  glad  that  you  have  taken  occasional  ap- 
pointments for  the  Stranger's  Friend  Society.    I  know 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


97 


them  well.  They  were  my  best  friends,  and  from  experi- 
ence, I  assure  you,  that  being  directed  by  them,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  will  secure  you  the  means  of  enjoj^ng 
ihe  approbation  of  God.  When  I  joined  that  society,  I  was 
a  stranger  to  all  in  DubUn,  with  a  few  exceptions — but 
having  given  myself  to  them,  and  their  work,  I  met  with 
some  crosses,  many  blessings,  and  dbimdant  consolations.^^ 

It  may  here  without  impropriety  be  noted,  that  "  Social 
Meetings''  for  reUgious  conversation,  at  which  the  members 
of  the  various  societies  in  Dublin  took  breakfast,  or  after- 
noon tea,  together,  are  still  kept  up,  and  in  them  is  main- 
tained a  general  and  profitable  religious  conversation,  which 
is  made  a  pecuUar  blessing  to  the  persons  present.  These 
interviews  were  very  interesting  to  Summerfield,  and  fre- 
quent allusions  to  them  occur  in  the  Diary  :  the  following 
exhibits  a  dehcate  trait : — "  attended  our  social  meeting. 
Arranged  for  the  ensumg  breakfast — It  is  my  turn  to 
invite — I  will  therefore  invite  my  father,  as  we  expect 
WiUiam  Bunting,  Mr.  Gaulter,  &c.  to  it,  and  I  know  I 
could  not  give  him  a  higher  gratification." 

On  the  23d  of  June,  he  made  the  annexed  memoran 
dum,  which  appears  too  interesting  to  be  omitted:  "Mis. 
Campbell  has  desired  my  father  to  let  me  spend  the  entire 
of  this  day  with  her  dying  son.  May  I  go  filled  with 
the  spirit  of  prayer  ! — I  went,  &c.  I  staid  there  to  break- 
fast, and  remained  till  2  o'clock.  He  is  very  happy ;  I 
read  Baxter's  d}Tng  thoughts  for  him,  and  commented 
I  13 


98 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


thereon :  I  prayed  with  the  family — my  own  soul  was 
watered  also."— After  dirmer,  he  adds,  "  Mrs.  Campbell 
has  desired  me  to  spend  the  whole  night  with  WUliam. 
I  very  unwell  myself ;  yet  if  it  be  the  wiU  of  my  Mas- 
ter, I  will  go  notwithstanding  this."  He  went  accordingly, 
but  found  his  friend,  "  no  more  a  man  !  he  was  now  be- 
come an  angel ;  I  remained  with  the  beautiful  clay  aU 
^ght — Oh  !  that  I  was  landed  as  safely  beyond  the 
stream  !"  How  short  a  time  sufficed  to  realize  this  ardent 
aspiration ! 
i 

The  precision  with  which  he  notes  the  various  emotions 
cormected  with  the  composition  and  delivery  of  his  pulpit 
discourses  ;  and  hi.^  record  of  the  slightest  intimations  of 
^  approbation  or  otherwise,  expressed  by  the  preachers,  all 
tend  to  illustrate  ftie  undoubted  fact,  tliat  he  ver^  carefully 
•watcheji  every  movement  of  the  finger  of  God  in  this 
moi|ie^t6us  affair.  '  Indeed  it  is  evident,  from  several 
■  incidental  expressions,  that  his  mind  was  labouring  from 
day  to  day,  in  an'xioy«  .suspense,  as  if  he  waited  for  some 
providential  change,  some  call  from  God,  which  should 
decide  the  future  courge  and  complexion  of  his  hfe.  He 
seems  less  to  have  aimed  at  a  distinct  object — consciously 
at  least,  than  to  have  expected  some  such  manifestation  as 
should  decide /or  him :  it  is  indeed  abundantly  evident,  that 
with  heart,  soul,  mind,  and  strength,  he  had  been  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  and  longing  to  be  clearly  and  effectually 
brought  into  it, — not  of  his  own  will  only,  but  by  the  will 
of  God :  indeed,  the  former  appears  to  have  been  so  reso- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


99 


lutely  submitted  to  the  latter — so  conscientiously  sacrificed 
to  it — that  he  was  hEirdly  aware  of  its  survival  in  liimself. 

This  perfect  resignation  accounts,  too,  for  that  absence  of 
anxiety,  so  nearly  resembling  indifference,  with  which  he 
regarded  any  prospect  of  a  pennanent  situation ;  for  in- 
stance, after  naming  an  individual,  he  says — "  He  proposed 

for  my  acceptance  the  probabihty  of  a  situation  in  

of  60  or  701.  per  annum.  Judging  that  this  might  be  of 
God,  I  told  him  that  if  it  offered,  1  would  not  refuse  it — if 
it  be  thy  will,  my  Lord  I  open  thou  the  way."  The  way 
however  remained  closed — God  had  other  work  for  him 
to  do. 

Under  July  13th,  he  writes: — "Heard  Gideon  Ousely,  on 
loving  God  with  all  the  heart,  mind,  soul,  and  strength. 
Came  home,  and  after  sweet  private  prayer,  retired.  I 
was  much  blessed  under  Gideon  Ousely,  and  very  near 
the  attainment  of  the  blessing  I  so  much  desire.  My  mind 
was  kept  in  a  sweet  frame  all  the  evening.  Is  a  fall,  or 
even  a  deep  temptation,  at  hand  ?"  Next  morning,  he  con- 
tinues, "  foimd  Jesus  remarkably  present ;  I  could  scarcely 
do  any  thing  this  morning  but  pray  and  weep.  I  don't 
know  when  I  was  in  so  happy  a  frame  :  my  head  was  a 
fountain  of  tears,  my  heart  was  broken,  and  the  healing 
balm  began  to  flow  into  my  soul.  I  fear  I  shall  shp  :  this 
happy  frame,  is  to  me  a  presage  of  a  sore  temptation — 
watch  and  pray." 


100 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


A  powerful  temptation  was  at  hand.  Satan,  who  had 
laid  a  snare  in  the  way  of  a  secular  engagement,  into 
which,  much  against  his  incUnation,  Mr.  Summerfield  had 
to  enter  the  following  afternoon,  was  but  too  successful  in 
bringing  his  conscience  into  bondage.  The  enemy  having 
so  far  succeeded  with  the  temptation,  then  came  in  as  a 
flood  upon  him.  "  I  felt  (says  he)  the  conflict  between 
conscience  and  Satan,  and  in  two  attacks  I  gave  him  the 
repulse :  he  renewed  the  effort,  and  my  w^ll  consented. 
Oh,  the  mercy  that  God  did  not  strike  me  dead  !"  He 
felt  unutterable,  pangs  of  conscience,  at  the  recollection  of 
this  fault,  (having  while  settling  an  affair  of  business,  been 
induced  to  take  a  part  of  a  pint  of  porter,  which,  as  he 
was  unaccustomed  to  it,  affected  his  head,)  and  when  he 
reached  home,  he  indeed  knelt  down  in  his  agony,  but 
instead  of  that  sweet  intercourse  with  heaven,  which  he 
had  experienced  on  the  preceding  evening,  he  could  not 
even  speak  in  prayer ;  his  strength  had  departed,  and 
amid  bursting  sighs,  and  with  a  heavy  heart,  he  retired  to 
rest. 

The  following  morning  he  rose  at  half  past  five,  and 
attempted  to  pray ;  "  but  oh !  (he  exclaims)  how  dead  was 
every  power  of  my  soul — Father,  forgive,  forgive  !"  In 
the  evening,  he  preached  to  the  old  men,  at  the  hospital, 
from  James,  chap.  iv.  8 — 10.  "  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
he  will  draw  nigh  to  you.  Cleanse  your  hands,  ye  sirmers ; 
and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double  minded.  Be  afllicted, 
and  mourn,  and  weep:  let  your  laughter  be  turned  to 


REV.  JOHN  StMMERFIELD. 


101 


mourning,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness.  Humble  yourselves 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  lift  you  up." 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  advantages  of  this  sermon 
to  the  hearers,  the  preacher  appears  to  have  experienced 
the  blessing  promised  in  the  text :  "  I  had  (says  he)  no 
power  in  myself ;  however,  sinful  as  I  am,  I  put  the 
Lord  to  his  promise,  and  found  him  faithful — my  natural 
impediment  (of  speech)  was  gone,  and  I  never  spake  so 
free  from  it  before. — It  was  a  blessed  time,  and  I  myself 
was  refreshed. — Strange  to  say,  after  the  meeting,  I  lost 
this  hberty  of  speech,  and  could  not  speak  three  words 
together."  He  then,  in  connexion  with  a  subsequent  en- 
gagement and  blessing  on  the  same  day,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing curious  remark  with  reference  to  a  peculiar  affec- 
tion in  the  muscles  of  his  tongue,  which  he  occasionally 
mentions.  "  Was  at  Gravel  Walk  prayer  meeting — I 
was  called  to  the  desk,  to  conclude  the  meeting ;  I  never 
was  in  such  a  state  before  :  I  could  not  even  speak  !  This 
is  truly  my  thorn  in  the  flesh. — However,  I  raised  my 
heart  and  eyes  to  heaven,  and  gave  out, '  Salvation,  oh  !  the 
joyful  sound  !'  &c.  I  cast  myself  into  my  Saviour's  arms, 
and  began  to  pray  ;  but  oh  !  wonderful  to  tell !  my  tongue 
was  loosed ;  the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  ;  nothing  but 
loud  weeping,  and  echoing  amens,  were  heard  in  all  parts 
of  the  house,  and  my  own  voice  lost.  The  power  was 
evidently  of  God,  and  not  of  man — I  believe  many  will 
have  cause  to  remember  it." 

As  this  is  the  only  instance  of  his  being  so  overtaken, 


102  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

which  occurred  in  the  whole  course  of  his  christiau  Ufe,  it 
may  be  thought  by  some  of  the  readers  of  these  memoirs, 
that  the  strictest  fidehty  in  a  biographer  hardly  required 
the  introduction  of  such  a  comparatively  trifling  mcident. 
If,  however,  any  individual  who  may  happen  to  peruse 
these  pages,  should  be  so  unhappily  constituted,  as  to 
derive  any,  even  the  shghest,  motive  for  exultation  in  this 
"  fault  of  his  brother," — ^let  such  an  one  remember,  that 
the  foregoing  circumstance  is  mentioned,  not  even  to  gra- 
tify an  idle  curiosity,  but  rather  as  the  only  proof  I  shall 
henceforward  be  able  to  produce,  on  the  grovmd  of  any 
overt  defalcation  in  his  religious  conduct,  that  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield,  amidst  all  his  excellencies,  was  "  a  man  of  hke 
passions  with  ourselves."  On  the  other  hand,  if  any 
young  man  of  sanguine  temperament,  should  in  some 
unguarded  moment  have  sinned  "  after  the  similitude  of  his 
transgression,"  let  him  imitate  this  penitent  disciple  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  in  seeking  pardon,  and  hke  him  he  will 
find  it. 

It  will  be  no  trespass  on  the  reader's  patience  to  notice 
another  entry,  made  on  the  evening  of  the  day  last  men- 
tioned : — "  Came  home,  and  after  much  fervent  prayer,  in 
wliich  I  found  Jesus  ready  to  give  me  the  kiss  of  peace, 
but  yet  some  hinderance  in  me  retarded  it — I  retired  to  rest, 
and  sensibly  felt  I  should  close  my  eyes  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Heaven.  Oh  !  for  a  thousand  tongues  ;  a  thou- 
sand, thousand  tongues !"  It  may  not  be  uninteresting 
just  to  remark,  in  reference  to  a  striking  phrase  in  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


103 


precediug  extract^  that  in  the  Moravian  "  Reception  Litui  - 
gy,"  as  it  is  called,  there  is  a  Hymn,  beginning, 

In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord !" 

Tills  is  sung  on  the  reception  of  members  into  the  con- 
gregation, and  contains  the  following  line  : — 

"  May  He  give  you  his  kiss  of  peace." 

The  phrase  is  evidently  a  recollection  of  Summevfield  s 
school  exercises  at  Fairfield,  and  is  used  by  liim,  as  well 
as  among  the  brethren,  to  denote  pardon,  acceptance,  and 
fellowship  with  the  Lord  Jesvis. 

After  mentioning  with  great  humihty  the  fact,  that  at 
one  place  in  the  country  there  had  been  but  five  heai-ers 
on  the  preceding  sabbath,  but  that  he  had  a  congre- 
gation of  twenty,  and  moreover,  that  one  of  the  friends 
complained,  that  as  some  of  the  young  men  who  had  heen 
sent  out  there  were  not  such  as  they  Uked.  they  would 
only  receive  three  ;  he  adds,  "  Lord  !  make  me  more  hum 
ble — I  was  one  of  the  three ! — thou,  oh !  my  God,  shalt 
have  the  honour  I  I  will  put  the  crown  on  no  head  but 
thine  !  Have  I  a  gift  1  Thou  bestowedst  it !  Oh  !  grant 
me  more  grwt  /"  After  preaching  in  the  evening  of  the 
•same  day,  (July  19,)  he  thus  writes  in  the  diary  : — "  It 
was  a  season  of  blessing  here  also.  Go  where  I  will,  if  in 
the  true  spirit  of  sincerity,  I  meet  my  Master — God  won- 


104 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


deifully  subdued  the  thorn  in  my  flesh — I  never  spoke 
with  such  fluency  and  ease  to  myself.  Bless  and  magnify 
thy  God  !  oh  !  my  soul.  I  am  now  fasting  thirteen  hours  ; 
I  have  walked  many  miles,  and  twice  preached  till  I  am 
quite  hoarse  ;  yet  I  am  neither  weak  nor  loeary  ;  I  could 
go  again,  if  called  to  it,  to  hold  a  third  meeting.  He  won- 
derfully supports  my  body  on  these  occasions  ;  though  I 
want  bodily  food,  yet  having  fed  my  soul,  I  feel  no  lack." 

It  is  not  quite  clear  from  these  words,  whether  the  pro- 
tracted abstinence  to  which  they  refer  was  casual  or  volun- 
tary ;  but  from  Mr.  Summerfield's  practice,  the  latter  is 
rather  to  be  apprehended.  If  so,  what  are  we  to  say  about 
such  fasting,  and  labouring,  not  with  the  spiiit  only,  in 
agony  of  prayer,  but  with  all  the  bodily  powers  in  preach- 
ing ?  This  is  a  delicate  question  ;  and  though  I  shall 
neither  dispute  nor  dogmatize  in  a  matter  where  the  ex- 
ample of  our  Saviour,  the  practice  of  the  Christian  Fathers, 
the  rubrics  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  even  the  notifi- 
cations of  the  Methodist  Society,  are  express— I  cannot  but 
observe,  at  the  same  time,  that  to  the  slow  but  eventual 
substitution  of  unscriptural  austerities  against  nature,  for 
the  fruits  of  grace  in  the  soul,  may  be  attributed,  as  much 
as  to  any  other  cause,  the  demoralization  and  downfall  of 
the  Romish  Church.  Fasting  must,  however,  be  good,  if 
it  is  done  with  simplicity  of  heart,  and  discretion  as  to  the 
tune  and  measure  of  the  exercise.  After  all,  it  is  s.  penance, 
and  may  be  a  snare  ;  for  a  tender  conscience  may  mistake 
a  yoke  gratuitously  taken  up,  and  violently  enforced 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


105 


against  nature,  for  a  cross  imposed  by  our  Saviour.  There 
is  indeed  no  command  in  the  Gospel  to  fast ;  but  divines 
have  generally  concurred  with  the  idea,  that  as  Christ 
mentions  it  with  alms-giving  and  prayer,  which  are  un- 
questionable duties,  and  moreover  as  he  may  be  said  to 
have  given  directions  concerning  the  right  performance  of 
if,  in  his  sermon  on  the  mount,  it  is  a  salutary,  if  not  a 
necessary  discipUne.  It  is  a  "  voluntary  huiniUation,"  and 
though  it  may  be  profitable,  yet  they  must  be  well  per- 
suaded in  their  own  minds  who  use  it,  lest  they  bring 
themselves  under  condenmation  when  they  neglect  it.  It 
may  perhaps  be  laid  down  as  a  general  and  safe  rule,  with 
few  exceptions,  tha.t  fasting,  in  the  less  severe  acceptation 
of  the  term,  as  implying  a  partial  abstinence  from  custo- 
mary food,  the  better  to  prepare  the  spirit  for  devotional 
exercises,  is  a  sacrifice  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God ; 
whereas,  perpetual  maceration,  or  other  injmious  treatment 
of  the  body,  is  neither  to  be  practised  nor  recommended ; 
{ot  such  a  course  we  have  no  authority  fi-om  Christ,  neither 
from  the  Church.  It  is  rather,  however,  to  be  feared  that, 
|)res€»/,  the  chief  danger  hes  in  the  opposite  direction. 
The  Methodist  Conference  in  England  authorizes  what 
are  called  "  Quarterly  Fast"  days ;  the  observance  of 
which,  however,  is  either  very  lax,  or  totally  disregarded, 
among  the  society. 

Mr.  Summerfield  is  now  to  be  viewed,  as  labouring  in  a 
new  section  of  that  extensive  field  of  usefulness  providen- 
tially opened  for  him  in  Ireland.   His  father  had  been  for 
14 


106 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


some  time  engaged  by  Mrs.  Barnes  in  the  management  of 
the  general  machine  manufactory,  in  Miller-street,  Cork  ; 
to  this  city,  at  the  call  of  his  fatlier,  this  youthful,  lovely, 
and  zealous  apostle  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  instantly  repaired. 
He  left  DubUn  for  Cork  on  the  e3d  of  July,  1818,  and  ar- 
rived at  the  latter  place  on  the  following  evening,  and  con- 
trary to  his  expectations,  no  worse  in  body,  next  morning, 
although  he  had  ridden  on  the  outside  of  the  coach,  and 
been  thoroughly  drenched  with  rain.  He  thus  notices  his 
reception  by  his  father  and  Mrs.  Barnes  :  "  Went  to  Han- 
over-street Foundry,  to  seek  my  father,  but  was  sent  from 
there  to  Miller-street,  where  I  found  him  in  good  health, 
and  experienced  from  him  another  token  of  that  love, 
which  he  has  always  manifested  towards  me.  At  9  o'clock 
I  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  B.,  the  lady  on  whose  business  I 
came  here.  I  breakfasted  with  her,  and  was  most  wel- 
comely  received.  This  day  1  eiMployed  in  settling  myself 
in  my  new  lodgmgs  at  her  house."  In  the  evening,  he 
continues — "Mrs.  B — ,  my  father,  and  I,  set  off  in  the 
steam  packet  for  Cove,  where  her  family  have  lodgings 
for  water  advantages.  I  was  highly  charmed  with  my 
new  traveUing  machine,  and  with  the  surrounding  scenery : 
but  alas  !  '  This  is  not  like  my  God,'  and  yet  my  heavenly 
Father  made  all  these." 

The  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  he  piously  and  ap- 
propriately remarks  : — "  This  morning  I  had  that  leisure, 
which  I  could  not  before  meet  with  since  I  came  to  Cork. 
I  bought  up  the  moments,  and  earnestly  dedicated  myself 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


lor 


to  God  in  this  novel  country ;  I  besought  his  grace  to 
enable  me  to  walk  circumspectly  before  aU,  and  preserve  a 
conscience  void  of  offence.  1  scarcely  recollect  so  great  a 
sense  of  the  divine  presence. — May  I  watch  the  finger  of 
Providence  in  this  my  call  to  this  part  of  the  country,  and 
trace  his  hand  in  aU  the  events  of  my  life  !" 

The  divine  hand — for  it  was  manifestly  no  other — soon 
pointed  out  a  way  of  employment,  very  different  from  that 
which  was  the  more  immediate  object  of  liis  visit  to  Cork  ; 
for  alt  ough  he  entered  promptly  upon  Mrs.  Barnes'  busi- 
ness, and  simdry  entries  occur  of  his  dihgence  therein, 
yet  his  talents  and  piety  being  discovered  and  appreciated, 
he  was  presently  almost  exclusively  engaged  in  preaching 
for  one  or  other  of  the  Methodist  ministers,  who  reaUy 
appear  to  have  had  too  httle  consideration  about  his  deh- 
cate  frame,  upon  which  he  had  no  mercy  himself ;  while 
the  people  exercised  still  less  forbearance  ui  the  mode  and 
measure  of  their  approbation  of  his  pulpit  labours.  These 
things  find  their  solution — perhaps  their  apology — in  the 
fact,  that  the  uncommon  fervour  of  his  discourses,  was 
generally  accompanied  by  abundant  manifestations  of  ^he 
divine  presence. 

The  following  naive  entry  occurs,  under  Smiday,  Aug. 
2nd  : — "  This  promises  to  be  a  high  day  with  me :  I  found 
Jesus  truly  precious  in  my  morning  prayer. — 10  o'clock, 
went  to  Patrick-street — heard  Mr.  Waugh  on  Peace  in  all 
things,  by  all  means,  &c.  and  now,  how  can  I  describe  my 


108  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

feelings,  when,  after  morning  worship,  Mr.  Stewart  rises 
up,  and  publishes  these  words  : — '  Brother  Summerfield, 
from  Dublin,  a  member  of  the  Stranger's  Friend  Society- 
there,  will  preach  at  5  o'clock  this  evening  at  Douglas — 
Brother  Summerfield  from  Dublin,^  he  repeated. — I  knew 
not  whether  I  was  sittmg  or  standing  :  I  was  thrown  into 
such  a  state  of  perturbation — He  mistook  me  ;  I  am  no 
member  of  that  society  [not  perhaps  in  the  strict  sense 
— but  he  had  often  preached  for  them ;]  "  and  to  invite 
immortal  souls  to  come  to  hear  me  !  and  this  my  first  regu- 
lar sermon,  exceeded  the  powers  of  my  mind  to  bear  under ; 
— I  hmried  home,  and  found  the  way  to  my  closet — and 
found  my  God  there — Glory  to  Him  !"  At  five  o'clock,  he 
repaired  to  the  preaching  house,  which  was  crowded  to 
excess.  After  casting  himself  by  private  prayer  into  the 
arms  of  his  blessed  Master,  he  gave  out  his  favourite  HymU; 
— "  Oh  !  what  shall  I  do,  my  Saviour  to  praise,"  and  then 
preached  three  quarters  of  an  hour  fix)m  Romans,  viii.  32. 
He  felt  great  liberty  in  the  pulpit,  and  probably  regarded 
the  whole  service  as  a  happy  presage  of  his  future  destiny, 
for  he  thus  writes  concerning  it : — "  Thus  have  I  com- 
menced on  this  (to  me)  memorable  day.  And  now  '  I'll 
praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath  my  heart  warms  in 
the  work,  and  I  am  determined  to  lay  myself  out  for  God." 

How  emphatically  he  acted  upon  this  determination,  the 
subjoined  entry,  relative  to  his  engagement  on  the  follow- 
ing Wednesday,  will  partially  show  : — "7  o'clock,  I  set 
off  to  Blackpool ;  the  place  was  again  crowded  to  excess. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


109 


Oh  I  my  God,  did  I  speak,  and  did  they  hear,  for  elemity  ! 
I  was  as  wet  with  the  heat  as  if  I  had  been  dragged 
through  water.  I  exerted  too  much,  and  preached  near 
an  hour ;  besides  the  singing  and  prayer  :  but  who  could 
forbear  ?  If  I  injure  my  body,  I  cannot  restrain  : — I  hur- 
ried home  ;  muffled  up  as  well  as  I  could,  and  got  to  bed."' 
^Vell  might  his  record,  next  morning,  be,  "  I  find  myself 
yery  unwell  from  last  night ;  and  therefore  (he  continues) 
obtained  a  respite  from  further  labour,  the  remainder  of 
this  week ;  which  time  I  employed,  as  good  George  Howe 
says — in  mending  my  net — nay  more,  in  employing  the 
aid  of  Him,  who  can  direct  me  how  to  let  it  down  on  the 
right  side  of  the  ship."'  A  day  or  two  afterwards,  when 
called  upon  to  pray  at  the  pubUc  bands,  a  kind  brother 
w  Iiispered  in  his  ear,  "  take  care  lest  the  sword  cut  the 
scabbard."  This  metaplior,  which  is  proverbial,  is  yet 
hardly  a  correct  one.  Of  what  use  is  the  sword  in  the 
scabbard ;  by  nisting  there  it  may  consume  it — but  the 
body  is  something  more  to  the  sword  than  the  scabbard  : 
the  metaphor,  however,  though  it  will  not  exactly  '-go  on 
idl  fours,"'  is  suflaciently  expressive  of  the  danger  to  be  ap 
prehended  to  the  delicate  form  of  our  young  preacher, 
when  his  "  soul  was  shai-pened,"  to  use  his  own  words,  b} 
a  sense  of  the  presence  of  his  Master. 

It  was  ever  Jlr.  Summcrfield's  solicitude  to  avoid  not 
only  tiie  evil  comnnmications  of  those,  who  were  evidently 
the  corrupters  of  good  manners — but  likewise  all  unneces- 
sary conversation  with  tlie  professors  of  rehgion  at  times 

K 


110 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


or  on  topics  not  convenient.  The  following  item  is  quoted 
for  the  purpose  of  accompanying  it  with  a  remark  which, 
although  it  may  be  disregarded,  need  not  be  taken  amiss  : 
"after  preaching  was  over,  I  huiried  home  to  my  closet, 
lest  I  should  lose  the  blessing  by  conversing  with  any 
one."  Would  that  christians  in  general,  and  Methodists 
in  particular,  had  in  them  a  disposition  to  "  do  likcAvise." 
How  frequently  are  the  good  desires,  and  holy  feelings 
derived  during  divine  service,  dissipated  by  that  frivolous 
conversation — or  at  best,  that  semi-religious  twattle, 
Avhich  is  so  often  heard  on  the  breakmg  up  of  our  congre- 
gations. It  is  stated  m  the  Life  of  the  well  known  Mr. 
Henry  Longden  of  Sheffield,  that,  in  consequence  of  a  re- 
mark once  made  to  him  on  this  subject  by  a  wortliy  Qua- 
ker, the  man  of  God,  just  named,  always  made  it  a  rule 
with  himself  and  family  to  depart  diiectly,  and  in  silence, 
from  his  place  of  worship  to  his  home. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


HI 


SECTIOJT  VII. 

Controversy  about  the  Sacrament — the  Clones  party — Sum- 
merfteld  becomes  a  popular  preacher — preaches  almost  inces- 
santly— ministerial  anxieties — travels  and  addresses  large 
auditories  in  Ireland  with  great  success. 

A  LITTLE  before  this  period,  an  important  question,  which 
had  previously  distracted  the  Society  in  England,  and 
which  was  amicaljly  settled  in  America  in  the  year  1784, 
was  legally  mooted  in  Ireland ; — I  aUude  to  the  disputed 
propriety  of  administering  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  the  Methodist  chapels,  and  by  ministers  not  re- 
gularly ordained  according  to  the  fornuila  of  tlie  church 
of  England.  I  have  no  disposition,  in  this  place,  to  go 
over  the  grounds,  or  into  the  merits  of  this  really  perplex- 
ing question ;  suffice  it,  however,  here  to  observe,  that  it 
assumed  so  serious  and  agitated  an  aspect,  that  l)ad  men 
rejoiced,  and  good  men  were  alarmed,  at  the  prospects  of 
Methodism  in  Ireland.  Two  parties  being  thus  imhappily 
created,  that  wliich  originated  in  a  mere  question  of  dis- 
cipline, soon  \i£came  a  matter  of  property,  and  ultimately 
of  law  :  for  as  the  chapels  were  genei  ally  settled  upon  trust 
.deeds,  although  at  the  same  time  in  connexion  with  the 


U2 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Conference,  the  major  sentiment  of  the  trustees  inclining, 
in  different  places,  respectively  to  one  side  or  the  other, 
brought  the  subject  into  the  justiciary  courts  of  Dubhn. 
Although  the  trials,  which  lasted  some  time,  were  con- 
ducted against  the  Conference,  with  equal  talent  and  acri- 
mony, it  was  eventually  ruled,  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
English  Conference  had  been  established  in  Ireland,  by 
the  recognition  of  a  delegate  commissioned  therefrom,  as 
president  of  the  Irish  conferences.  Here,  however,  the 
m^atter  did  not  end ;  the  waves  of  opposition  had  rolled 
too  boisterously,  to  subside  in  a  moment :  a  new  party  was 
formed,  designated  indifferently  from  Clones,  the  head 
quarters  of  the  opposers,  or  from  Mr.  ^verill,  an  influential 
leader  thereof.  I  would  willingly  have  avoided  all  far- 
ther allusion  to  this  unpleasant  schism,  were  it  not  material 
to  notice,  First,  the  pecuhar  circumstances  in  which  Mr. 
Summerfield  was  placed,  from  the  frequent  contact  into 
which  he  was  brought  with  the  seceders,  by  the  intersection 
of  their  respective  spheres  of  operation ;  and  moreover, 
the  fact,  that  he  was  not  only  tempted  by  various  indirect 
means  to  join  the  Clones'  party,  but  actually  solicited  by  the 
leader  to  enrol  himself  amongst  them.  Secondly,  because 
it  was  the  opinion  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  Society  in  Ire- 
land, and  by  implication  apparently  of  IMr.  Summerfield 
himself,  that  he  w^as  raised  up  by  God,  especially  at  this 
juncture,  to  counteract  the  mischievous  consequences  of 
such  a  division  :  and  it  must  be  admitted,  that,  when  ever} 
thing  is  taken  into  the  account,  it  was  neither  presumptu- 
ous in  him,  nor  fanatical  in  his  friends,  to  come  to  such 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


113 


ii  conclusion.  With  reference  to  his  means  of  judging  the 
merits  of  the  case,  it  may  be  observed,  that  while  the  trials 
were  going  on  in  Dublin,  he  was  an  anxious  and  sedulous 
attendant  at  the  courts  ;  so  that  he  was  thoroughly  inform- 
ed of  all  tlie  legal  evidence  on  both  sides.  Of  his  respect, 
foibcarance,  and  prudence  toward  the  opposers,  let  them- 
selves be  the  judges,  or  let  the  pages  of  his  diary  testify : 
— though  I  shall  mtroduce  as  few  of  the  entries  relative  to 
this  topic,  as  may  be  compatible  with  a  dehneation  of  his 
ministerial  progress. 

His  popularity  at  tliis  time,  and  under  the  above  named 
circumstances,  placed  him  between  the  horns  of  that 
dilemma,  upon  one  or  other  of  which  a  sensitive  man's 
feelings  are  sure  to  be  impaled,  even  if  nothing  worse 
befal  him.  In  consequence  of  some  slanderous  remarks 
which  had  been  made  concerning  him  to  Mr.  Stewart,  he 
resolved  to  lay  aside  his  public  labours  in  Cork,  for  the 
present,  and  even  to  give  up  an  engagement  to  preach, 
which  he  had  made  there  :  this  was  August  2Sth.  Next 
morning,  while  travelling  on  the  steam  boat  to  Cove,  he 
observes,  "  my  mind  was  much  led  out  into  the  case  of 
Jonah ;  like  him,  I  was  fleeing  from  the  Lord's  work,  in 
wliich  I  should  have  been  engaged  to-morrow, — being 
appointed  for  Douglas.  I  prayed  that  my  God  would 
pardon  this  my  sin ;  I  would  gladly  have  returned  to 
Cork,  if  I  could  have  done  so ;  however,  I  vowed  to  Him 
that  I  woidd  not  again  shrink  from  the  cross,  and  anew 
committed  my  soul  and  body  into  his  hands." 
K  2  15 


114 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


A  few  days  afterwards  he  was  distressed  by  the  injudi- 
cious affection  of  several  of  his  friends,  who,  when  he  had 
done  preaching  at  Passage,  "dragged  him  in  different  direc- 
tions," and  as  he  could  not  go  with  all,  some  were  offended  ; 
but,  as  he  justly  exclaimed,  "  what  could  I  do  ?  If  I  could 
leave  an  arm  here,  and  a  leg  there,  <fcc.  I  would. — My 
God,  keep  me  very,  very,  very  humble  I  I  told  them  that 
I  feared  they  would  ruin  me,  by  making  me  think  of  my- 
self above  measure,  and  begged,  if  they  loved  me,  they 
would  desist."  Let  the  friends  of  popular  young  ministers 
affectionately  consider  this.  If  it  might  not  with  truth  be 
affirmed  that  Summerficld  was  absolutely  insensible  to 
such  adulation,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  was  as  little 
improperlj'^  affected  by  it,  as  perhaps  any  human  being,  in 
his  circumstances,  could  be. 

His  dislike  of  participating  in  any  engagements,  which 
were  not  exclusively  spiritual  in  their  object  or  tendency, 
has  been  repeatedly  noticed.  On  the  1st  of  September,  after 
mentioning  the  kind  entertainment  which  he  met  with  in 
a  respectable  family,  he  adds — "  After  breakfast,  spent  a 
good  part  of  the  forenoon,  in  singing,  and  playing  sacred 
music.  But  oh  !  how  unlike  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb  !"  In  the  afternoon,  he  was  induced,  much  against  his 
inchnation,  to  join  a  boating  party,  which  had  nearly  been 
comiected  with  fatal  consequences  ;  T  use  his  own  words  : 
■ — "  I  am  not  fond  of  this  Idnd  of  amusement ;  but  I  could 
not  refuse.  We  were  sixteen  in  number  ;  and  were  most 
providentially  preserved  from  a  watery  grave  ;  being 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


115 


thrown  into  the  most  mimment  danger,  and  glad  to  get  to 
the  shore,  sti'uggUng  through  the  water  on  a  bank  of  mud 
and  quicksand,  which  nearly  destroyed  us  : 

'  0 !  how  shall  I  with  equal  warmth, 
The  gratitude  declare, 
That  glows  within  my  ravished  heart  V  " 

He  was  now  frequently  placed  in  the  way  of  the  Sepa- 
ratists, sometimes  visiting  at  their  houses,  and  even  hearing 
their  preachers.  In  allusion  to  one  of  them,  occurs  the 
following  remark  : — "  He  speaks  with  the  tongue  of  an 
angel,  and  I  am  afraid  to  say  wuth  some,  that  God  has 
not  sent^Jiim  ;  perhaps  it  is  to  provoke  our  Conference 
preachers  to  more  zeal  and  earnestness.  After  supper  at 
Mr.  Coxe's,  I  prayed  with  the  family,  and  we  parted,"  It 
may  be  proper  to  take  this  opportunity  of  mentioning  the 
fact,  that  numerous  references  to  kindnesses  received  in 
the  family  of  the  gentleman  last  named,  especially  from 
Miss  Coxe,  occur  in  Mr.  Summerfield's  diary  about  this 
period. 

The  following  day,  he  was  invited  to  meet  an  eloquent 
Clones  preacher  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  On  his  arrival, 
he  found  thirty  persons  present,  himself  and  one  lady 
being  the  only  adherents  to  the  Conference.  "  The  moment 

I  entered  the  room,"  says  he,  "  Mr.  rose  to  salute  me. 

I  perceived  that  I  had  been  the  subject  of  discourse  before 
I  came,  and  was  fully  expected.    After  a  pause  of  a  few 


116 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


minutes,  Mr.  commenced  his  discourse  to  me  on  the 

subject  of  the  separation,  and  wished  to  convince  me,  that 
I  was  not  a  friend  to  the  estabhshment. 

'  Oh  what  a  strife  about  a  name !' 

I  fear  the  substance  is  lost  b}^  many,  while  they  pursue 

the  shadow.  I  was  much  disappointed  in  Mr.  .  How 

unlike  John  Wesley  !  No  serious  discourse,  no  Christian 
experience,  no  edification."  Alas  !  to  how  many  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  besides  the  one  in  question,  are  these  regrets 
applicable. 

He  was  now  engaged  almost  incessantly,  at  one  place 
or  another,  preaching  the  word  with  increasing  acceptance  ; 
l)ut  the  struggles  of  his  mind  respecting  the  probabihty  of 
his  receiving  a  call  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  m  the  re- 
gular manner,  and  his  providential  situation  at  this  thne, 
were  strong  and  frequent.  He  was,  hideed,  placed  in  a 
most  delicate  and  difficult  predicament :  Conscious,  that 
while  he  pursued  his  present  course,  he  v.  as  neglecting,  in 
some  degree,  his  duty  to  Mrs.  Barnes,  who  however  treated 
him  with  great  liberality,  and  at  the  same  time  anxious!}^ 
looking  for  some  opening  whereby  God  wotild  bring  him 
more  fully  into  the  ministry — that  blessed  work  for  which 
his  ardent  soul  panted  to  be  entirely  given  up  ; — Oh  my 
God  I  "  says  he,  "  willing  as  I  am  to  be  spent  in  thy 
service,  thou  knowest  I  often  cry  out — '  send  by  wliom 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  117 

thou  wilt  send,  but  not  by  me'— and  yet  thou  hast  lepUed, 
'  my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee 

He  had  a  great  unwilhnguess  that  liis  father  should  hear 
him  preach,  and  had  given  up  one  appointment  on  that 
account.  On  the  15th  of  September,  he  preached  in 
Blackpool  Chapel,  from  Rom.  viii.  32.  Messrs.  Waugh 
and  Stewart  sat  with  him  in  the  pulpit.  But,  on  this  occa- 
sion, he  remarks,  "  I  never  was  so  embarrassed  £is  I  found 
myself — I  never  disliked  my  own  discourse  more  ;  I  hid 
my  face  afterwards,  and  ahuost  vowed,  I  would  never 
again  stand  up  to  preacli.  '  Oh  the  infirmity  of  man  ! — 
unwilling  to  be  humbl'^d — dissatisfied  if  he  cannot  please 
/iimse//inser\-ingGod!  The  congregation  was  large  ;  and, 
added  to  the  perturbed  state  of  his  feelings  on  this  account, 
what  was  liis  surprise  to  learn  on  his  arrival  at  home,  that 
his  father  had  been  one  of  his  hearers  ;  this  discovery,  and 
the  recollection  of  his  defects,  abashed  him  a  good  deal. 
His  father,  however,  assured  him  that  he  had  been  profited  ; 
and  a  pious  man,  to  whom  he  mentioned  his  temptation  to 
desist  from  preaching,  warned  him  m  God's  name  not  to 
do  it.  Next  morning  he  went  to  preach  at  Patrick-street 
Chapel.  Here  he  exempUfied  the  danger  of  relying  too 
much  upon  present  "  frames  and  feehngs,"  without  taking 
into  the  account  other  evidences  of  the  divine  favour.  The 
following,  and  several  similar  statements,  prove  in  Mr. 
Summerfield's  case,  as  m  many  others  that  might  be  men- 
tioned, how  emphatically  it  may  be  asserted,  that  he  who 
has  '•'  abundance  of  revelations."  needs  no  other — needs  no 


118 


Memoirs  of  the 


sharper  thorn  in  the  flesh — no  messenger  of  satan  more 
tormenting  and  harassing  than  this — tiie  perpetual  buffet- 
ing of  the  temptation  to  seek  his  own  glory,  while  he  is 
promoting  God's.  But  to  quote  the  entry  referred  to — "If 
ever  the  enemy  was  permitted  to  buffet  me,  surely  this  was 
the  time.  I  had  my  thoughts  taken  from  me,  and  in  this 
state  1  began  to  roam,  I  know  not  where  :  I  would  have 
given  all  the  world  to  have  been  out  of  the  house  ;  and 
after  J  had  concluded,  I  remained  till  all  the  people  had 
retired,  that  I  might  escape  home  unperceived.  My  God, 
is  this  from  thee  ?  Oh  !  my  Father,  send  by  whom  thou 
wilt  send,  but  not  by  me  ;  I  cannot — I  cannot  preach  I 
Perhaps  God  has  witlidrawn  his  hght  from  me ;  I  know 
I  might  have  been  more  faithful ;  but  oh  !  my  God  !  yet 
bear  with  me.  I  did  dedicate  myself  to  thee  ;  but  if  thou 
hast  nought  for  me  to  do,  remove  me  out  of  this  world 
altogether  ;  I  only  wish  to  live  to  promote  thy  cause !" 
Surely  these  agonies  of  anxiety  ought  to  have  been  some- 
what allayed,  by  the  consideration,  that  his  preaching  was 
accompanied,  not  only  by  tlie  power  of  God,  but  by  the 
applavise  of  men,  and  abundantly  rewarded  by  the  affection 
of  the  people  of  God — hideed  sufliciently  so  to  tempt  the 
vanity  and  ambition  which  is  in  every  human  heart. 
That  Summerfield  had  a  sincere  desire  to  do  the  work  of 
an  Evangelist  in  simplicity,  was  abundantly  evident  to 
others — but  he  did  not  know  himself  fully  at  this  time. 
"  Who  can  understand  his  errors?  Cleanse  thou  me  from 
secret  faults  !"  Psal.  xix.  12.  It  may  be  proper  to  add 
an  item  relative  to  his  very  next  sermon  : — "  I  preached  to 


REV.   JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


119 


a  large  congregation,  on  these  words,  '  Come  now,  and  let 
us  reason  together,'  &.c.  Isaiah  i.  18.  God  wonderfully 
assisted  me  ;  he  again  returned  to  my  help,  and  it  was  a 
season  of  blessing  to  all  our  souls — Olory  to  God  !"' 

Every  incident  that  reminded  him  of  the  venerable 
founder  of  Methodism,  seems  to  have  excited  in  his  mind 
strong  desires  to  emulate  the  labours  of  that  illustrious 
man.  In  a  collection  of  wax  figures  Avhich  he  was  taken 
to  see  at  Cork,  nothing  interested  him  so  much  as  "  that 
man  of  God,  John  Wesley."  Again,  in  the  subjoined 
graphic  sketch  : — "  I  could  not  help  thinking  how  like  a 
travelling  preacher  I  was  just  then :  a  boy,  whom  I  had 
hired,  walked  beforq.  me  with  my  travelling  bag,  like  a 
preacher's  portmanteau,  and  I  was  hurrying  after  to  meet 
immortal  souls,  who  were  waiting  for  me.  John  Wesley 
rushed  on  my  mind. — Oh  !  that  I  had  his  spirit,  his  zeal, 
his  piety,— then  indeed  I  should  be  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light  in  the  world."  Again : — "  I  have  now  preach- 
ed six  times  this  week  ;  and  j^et  wlmt  is  thi^  to  tlic  j^eal 
of  a  Wesley  or  a  Coke  ?"  Surely,  when  we  regard  the 
"  more  abundant"  labours  of  this  devoted  man,  there  was 
much  propriety  in  the  designation,  "  Young  Wesley,''  which 
was  frequently  applied  to  liini  at  this  and  an  after  period 
©f  his  career. 

In  connexion  with  a  previous  remark  relative  to  his  diffi- 
dence in  the  presence  of  his  father,  (himself  an  occasional 
preacher,)  I  cannot  forbear  transcribing  the  following  pas- 


120 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


sage  : — "  For  the  fiist  time,  I  took  up  a  cross  which  I  had 
not  before  borne;  namely — preaching  where  my  father 
was,  to  my  knowledge,  a  hearer ;  he  w-alked  with  me  to 
the  chapel,  and  I  could  not  refuse  his  request.  He  sat  just 
imder  the  pulpit,  and  I  observed  that  he  wept  all  the  tune." 
Some  sons  inake  their  fathers  weep  bitterly,  but  these 
were  tears  of  joy  and  love. 

So  interesting  was  the  appearance  and  so  fascinatmg 
the  eloquence  of  this  young  evangelist,  that  many  persons 
who  had  never  heard  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  probably 
Avould  not  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  hear  any  other, 
attended  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Summerfield  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cork.  Whether,  however,  these  were  church- 
men, or  CathoUcs  ;  persons  bigoted  against  Methodism,  or 
mere  men  of  the  world  ; — all  were  delighted  and  edified  by 
the  fervour  and  simplicity  of  his  sermons.  While  he 
laboured  to  acquit  his  conscience  in  speaking  fuitlifully  to 
all  w^ho  heard  him  ;  with  tlie  meekness  of  wisdom  he 
sought  to  tuin  to  profitable  account  even  the  slanders  of 
foolish  or  wicked  men  : — "  May  I  never,"  says  he,  on  one 
occasion, — "  forget  the  caution  which  a  false  accusation 
from  the  Clones'  party  has  given  me.  Oh  !  how  happ) 
we  should  be,  when  we  hear  our  faults  fi  om  our  enemies : 
our  friends  seldom  tell  them  to  us ;— too  seldom." 

Under  the  date  of  28tli  September,  there  is  an  entry  whicli 
seems  to  point  to  the  anniversary  of  his  spu  itual  birth-day : 
— « I  recollect  it  was  this  night  twelve  months,  that  I 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


121 


joined  the  Methodist  Society  ;  and  so  God  has  kept  me 
one  year  ! — Oh  !  how  unfaithful  J  have  been  !  My  God 
forgive — forgive  the  past !  Oh !  may  I  be  more  faithful 
in  time  to  come  !  one  year  !  oh !  eternity  I — This  evening 
I  renewed  my  covenant  with  God ;  may  He  who  could 
keep  me  one  year,  keep  me  for  ever  /"  One  year  only, 
since  he  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society — yet 
such  a  preacher,  that  he  even  dreams  (as  he  did  a  few- 
nights  previous  to  this)  that  he  is  before  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant and  his  Lady,  in  a  Palace  or  a  Cathedral ! — But 
oh  !  how  truly  and  sincerely  self  humbling  are  his  acknow- 
ledgements this  day.  He  is  now  alone  with  his  God,  and 
the  tempter  does  not  dare  to  disturb  liim  on  this  occasion. 
On  the  following  morning,  he  took  his  leave  of  the  con- 
gregation in  Patrick-street,  from  these  words  : — "  Keep 
yourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the  mercy  of  o\ir 
l^ord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  hfe."  Jude,  v.  21.  He  tlien 
wrote  in  his  diary — "  This  day  is  the  beginning  of  a  new 
year  with  me  ;  the  morning  of  this  new  year  I  have  been 
found  in  the  service  of  my  Master.  Oh  !  my  God,  where 
shall  I  be  in  the  morning  of  my  next  year  ! — But  above 
all,  where  shall  I  be  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection  ?" 

Towards  the  begimiing  of  October,  he  visited  Fermoy, 
and  preached  in  the  Court  House  to  the  largest  congre- 
gations ever  seen  in  that  place.  On  his  arrival,  he  repre- 
sents liis  soul  as  having  been  in  the  happiest  frame  he 
almost  ever  remembered  ;  indeed,  great  grace  seems  to 
have  rested  upon  him  day  by  day ;  and  yet  such  were  the 
humbling  views  which  he  had  of  his  own  weakness  and 
T,  10 


122 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


darloiess,  that  in  the  midst  of  blessings  from  above,  he 
writes,  "  Read  Mr.  Wesley's  sermon,  '  The  Almost  Chris- 
dan' — my  own  experience  !" 

Clomnel  and  Waterford  were  next  visited  by  him ;  and 
during  the' week  which  brought  him  to  the  latter  place,  he 
had  travelled  on  horseback  seventy  miles,  and  preached  i, 
seven  times.  He  was  really  itinerating  now.  Sir  Walter  i 
Scott  has  somewhere  observed — truly  enough — "  that  no 
person,  whatever  be  his  condition,  who  rides  a  horse,  ought 
to  be  either  unable  or  unwilhng  to  rub  him  down,  &c.  in 
the  lack  of  a  groom."  This  sentiment  is  far  from  being 
inapplicable  to  the  case  of  Methodist  preachers  ; — at  all 
events,  it  is  pleasing  to  find,  that  although  a  novel,  it  was 
not,  when  necessary,  a  repugnant  duty  with  Summerfield. 
In  one  instance,  occurs  this  item  : — "  Cleaned  down  my 
horse."  It  would  be  difficult  to  say,  whether  that  finical- 
ness  of  manners,  which  unfits  some  preacliers  for  driving  a 
nail,  or  dressing  a  nag,  if  necessary,  or  that  thoughtlessness 
which  allows  some  of  their  entertainers  to  neglect  these 
and  similar  httle  duties,  is  most  reprehensible. 

He  was  received  at  Waterford  by  the  Rev.  W.  Stewart, 
the  highly  esteemed  superintendant  preacher  of  that  place. 
To  this  man  of  God,  in  whom  Summerfield  found  a  true 
friend,  he  soon  became  ardently  attached,  and  numberless 
are  the  expressions  of  regard  and  endearment  which,  in 
connexion  with  his  name,  occur  in  the  diary.  This  affec- 
tion, so  characteristic  of  Summerfield's  attachments,  was 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


123 


reciprocated  by  his  friend  ;  and  I  am  happy,  that  a  com- 
munication from  Mr.  Stewart,  while  it  affords  me  an  op- 
portunity of  expressing  personal  obUgation  and  respect, 
furnishes,  at  the  same  time,  the  following  interestmg  notice  of 
Summerfield's  introduction  at  Waterford.  "  He  came  from 
Cork  recommended  to  me,"  says  Mr.  S.  "as  a  local  preacher, 
by  the  late  Rev.  W.  Copeland,  who  was  then  stationed  at 
Cove ;  and  who  remarked,  in  reference  to  Brother  Sum- 
merfield's talents  for  the  ministry,  that  if  he  were  not  a 
star  of  the  first  magnitude,  he  at  least  promised  to  be  one 
of  the  first  brilliancy.  We  were  much  delighted  with  him 
in  Waterford.  He  preached  for  us  several  times  ;  and  his 
sermons  discovered  a  depth  and  extent  of  scripture  know- 
ledge, and  Christian  experience,  much  beyond  his  years. 
This,  together  with  his  marmer,  style  of  delivery,  and  very 
youthful  appearance,  attracted  great  congregations,  who  all 
seemed  edified  and  impressed  ;  and  retired,  wondering  at 
the  grace  of  God  manifested  in  his  person,  his  preacliing 
and  his  prayers  ;  and  readily  re-echoing  the  common  sen- 
timent respecting  him — '  He  is  a  prodigy 

Besides  the  crowds  of  ordinary  hearers  attracted  by  his 
popularity,  many  persons  of  rank  and  influence  went  to 
hear  him;  and  in  one  instance,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fleury,  son  of 
the  Archdeacon  of  Waterford,  sat  with  him  in  the  pulpit,  a 
mark  of  respect  not  often  shown  to  the  Methodist  preachers  ; 
but,  above  all,  God  was  eminently  present  in  'he  congre- 
gations. 


124 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


It  must  be  regarded  as  a  felicitous  cu:cuinstance  for  Mr. 
Summerfield  at  this  time,  that  while  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  receiving  numerous  letters  of  invitation,  and  indeed  of 
commendation,  from  ministers  of  the  gospel,  his  corres- 
pondents were  men  of  experience  in  the  ways  of  religion, 
able  and  willing  to  give  him  the  best  advice  with  reference 
to  his  spiritual  prosperity.  Letters  lying  before  me,  written 
by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Hamilton,  Cooper,  Robinson,  Matthews, 
Cobain,  Stewart,  <fcc.  all  breathe  the  same  spirit.  Brief 
extracts  from  the  two  last  will  exhibit  the  bearing  of  the 
whole : — Rev.  E.  Cobain — "  Oh  !  what  shall  I  say  to  one 
I  love  so  dearly  ?  Lie  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross — Keep  close  to 
the  Bible — sit  loose  to  the  praise  of  men — If  any  good  be  done, 
sink  in  the  dust  before  God,  and  give  him  all  the  glory." 
Rev.  W,  Stewart — "  If  I  had  only  one  advice  to  give  you 
on  the  subject  of  preaching,  it  would  be — preach  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  and  a  free,  full,  and  present  salvation, 
through  faith  in  his  blood  ; — whether  you  preach  to  chil- 
dren or  grown  persons,  to  the  rich  or  to  the  poor,  to  saints 
or  to  sinners,  to  the  crowded  auditory  or  the  humble  few, 
let  this  be  your  theme — Jesus  and  his  salvation — salvation 
from  sin,"  &c.  <fcc. 

On  Sunday,  the  8th  of  November,  he  preached  at  Cove 
liis  ^rs<  Missionary  Sermon.  He  undertook  the  duty  with 
fear  and  trembling,  but  God  aided  him,  and  the  collection 
was  larger  than  on  any  previous  occasion.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday,  he  preached  for  the  same  purpose  at 
Waterford,  and  notwithstanding  that  it  rained  heavily  at 


REV.  JOHN  SUMSJERFIELD. 


125 


the  time  of  service,  the  collection  was  double  the  amount 
of  the  preceding  year. 

After  preaching  at  Ross,  one  evening,  to  a  large  congre- 
gation, he  thus  alludes  to  an  unpleasant  interruption : — "the 
devil  did  not  Uke  my  sermon ;  he  annoyed  us  by  a  drimken 
man,  who  threatened  to  pull  me  down;  some  of  the  hearers 
dragged  him  away,  and  Satan  was  disappointed."  A  very 
proper  representative  of  his  Satanic  majesty, — a  drunken 
man  !  But  the  devil  himself,  though  he  sometunes  chooses 
(0  be  thus  "  disguised  in  liquor,"  is  always  sober  within  : 
— wovdd  that  all  his  subjects  were  ;  then  would  there  soon 
be  fewer  of  them  :  indeed,  his  kingdom  would  be  in 
greater  danger  than  by  the  extinction  of  any  single  sin  ; 
for  this  is  the  "  mother  of  thousands,"— to  borrrow  for  it  the 
trivial  name  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  Uttle  wild-flowers* 
that  grows  on  the  rocks  of  Matlock  in  Derbysliire.  How 
often  has  a  similar  scene  been  presented  in  a  Methodist 
chapel !  a  brawling,  staggering,  hiccupiiig  drunkard,  half 
blind,  and  more  than  half  mad,  threatening  to  pull  down 
the  preacher !  Is  there  a  breathing  animal  in  human  shape 
so  great  in  his  own  eyes,  or  so  contemptible  in  the  eyes 
of  others,  as  a  drunkard — in  his  glory  ?  If  he  could  see 
himself  Avith  their  eyes,  he  would  be  fit  to  pluck  out  his 
own,  that  he  might  never  again  look  them  in  the  face. 

Having  left  Waterford,  he  visited  successively  Carrick. 


*  Antirrhinum  Cymbalaria. 

l2 


^26  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

Piltown,  Cloninel,  Cashel,  [where  he  went  to  look  at 
"that  wonder  of  art,  the  rock  of  Cashel,  where  heathenism, 
and  afterwards  popish  idolatry,  held  sway  ;  the  great  Dr. 
Coke  trod  the  same  ground  before  him,  and  he  felt  pecuhar 
emotions  on  the  reflection  that  the  doctor's  footsteps  had 
been  where  he.  had  the  honour  to  tread ;]  Thurles,  Tem- 
plemore,  Roscrea,  Shinrone,  Birr,  and  Mountratb,  and 
arrived  at  liis  father's  house  in  Cork  on  the  23d  of  De- 
cember ;  having  travelled  more  than  three  hundred  miles, 
and  preached,  on  an  average,  seven  times  a  week,  since  he 
left  home.  He  was  most  cordially  received  at  Cork  by 
his  "  well  beloved"  friend  the  Rev.  S.  Wood,  who  tlirec 
months  before  had  wished  him  "  God  speed,"  and  parted 
from  him  with  a  "  farewell  kiss"  at  Waterford  ;  and  who 
now  intimated  to  him  that  he  should  not  let  him  be  idle. 

This  section  may  with  much  propriety  be  closed  witli 
the  reflections  with  which  Mr.  Summerfield  himself  con- 
cluded the  year  1818 : — "  This  is  the  last  day  of  the  old 
year.  Oh  !  what  shall  I  say  to  my  God  for  all  his  goodness 
to  me  in  the  past  year.  I  am  at  a  loss  for  expression.  My 
heart  is  too  full.  In  this  one  year,  I  have  first  prayed  in 
pubUc,  and  begun  to  preach,  and  preached  in  the  metro- 
polis of  Ireland,  in  our  largest  chapel,  and  at  the  most 
pubUc  time ! — Oh !  my  God,  may  I  grow  up  into  Thee 
more  and  more,  in  all  my  ways. — May  I  be  spent  for 
Thee,  who  wast  spent  for  me — may  I  glorify  Thee  con- 
tinually. Attended  the  Watch  night.  I  was  to  have  ex- 
horted, but  I  did  not  feel  my  mind  free  to  do  so,  and  hid 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


127 


myself  in  the  chapel.  Mr.  DooUttle  spoke  suitably  on 
watch  nights,  and  mentioned  three  in  the  Bible — the 
Egyptian  watch  night,  when  the  Jews  were  deUvered— 
our  Lord's  watch  night  in  the  garden — Paul  and  Silas's 
watch  night." 


126 


MEMOIRS  or  THE 


SECTION  VIII. 

Returns  to  Dublin — fopularity  increases — dedicates  himself 
afresh  to  God — visits  Cork — his  fervour — polemical  dis- 
cussion—falls from  his  horse — abundance  of  his  labours — 
receives  a  Conference  appointment — Missionary  speech. 

The  year  1819,  found  Mr.  Summerfield  in  Dublin,  the 
friend  and  favourite  of  all  the  influential  Methodists  in  that 
city,  as  well  as  of  many  others, — his  popularity  just  setting 
in  with  all  the  fulness  and  freshness  of  its  spring  tide. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  excite- 
ment occasioned  by  his  labours  during  the  day,  should 
aiTect  his  imagination  by  night ;  and  accordingly,  as  before 
observed,  he  was  liable  to  dream  about  those  things  which 
60  unceasingly  occupied  his  waking  hours.  Notices  to  this 
effect,  repeatedly  occur  among  his  memoranda  :  the  follow- 
ing has  reference  to  January  7th : — "  I  had  a  dream  to  night, 
to  warn  me  not  to  be  high-minded,  but  fear."  This  dream 
may  be  thought  at  least  a  very  seasonable  one,  when  con- 
sidered in  connexion  with  the  fact,  that  three  days  before, 
he  had  preached  to  two  thousand  five  hundred  persons, 
and  "  felt  no  fear  of  man."  Great  men  and  good  men 
have  experienced  very  opposite  emotions  when  standing  in 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


129 


the  presence  of  their  auditories.  Perhaps,  generally 
speaking,  the  spectacle  of  an  immense  multitude  to  one 
who  can  speak  to  them,  is  only  so  far  overawing  as  to  ren 
der  the  sublime  exhilaration  of  spirit  more  intense  by  that 
sweet  and  solenm  restraint,  under  which  the  mind  rises, 
instinctively,  in  proportion  to  the  pressure  upon  it ;  while 
the  effusion  of  itself,  with  all  its  burthen  of  thoughts  and 
feelings,  into  the  bosoms  of  thousands,  aU  eye,  and  ear. 
and  heart,  is  better  ordered  and  more  effectual,  than  if  it 
broke  loose,  and  flooded  ihern,  and  lost  itself,  for  wEint  of 
regulating  bounds  and  controlling  influences. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  he  again  left  Dublin  to  fulfil 
several  pulpit  engagements  ;  at  the  end  of  the  first  week 
he  found  himself  at  Newagh,  having  travelled  ninety-six 
miles,  and  preached  ten  times. — Jfinety-six  miles,  and  ten 
sermons,  in  seven  days  !  He  went  with  the  speed  of  a  chariot 
wheel  down  hill,  till  the  axle  catches  fire — and  it  did  catch 
fire,  and  consmned  the  vehicle  at  last.  On  the  20th,  after 
speaking  three  hours,  he  observes,  "  I  now  for  the  fijrst  time 
lost  my  voice ;  the  groans  and  cries  for  mercy  were  beyond 
description  ;  I  could  say  no  more,  so  I  dismissed  them  with 
a  promise  to  preach  in  the  morning — may  God  help  me." 
Notwithstanding,  therefore,  that  his  voice  had  been  thus 
taken  from  him  in  mercy,  the  next  morning  foimd  him  in 
the  pulpit  at  8  o'clock  ;  and  in  the  evening  he  was  at  Pallas, 
where,  after  speaking  for  two  hours,  he  was  obUged  to 
desist ;  and  moreover  constrained  to  confess,  "  I  never  was 
so  ill  in  my  Ufe."  According  to  his  promise,  however,  ill 
17 


130 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


as  he  was,  he  preached  the  following  morning,  though  his 
"  body  almost  refused  its  functions,"  and  he  rather  "  cried 
aloud,"  than  spoke  as  he  was  wont : — it  would  be  painful 
here  to  detail  the  suflferings  which  constituted  the  natural 
sequel  of  such  agonies  of  extacy. 

Now  who  would  have  dared  to  have  quenched  such  a 
spirit  ?  yet  to  those  who  may  be  seduced  to  follow  his  ex- 
ample, it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  a  word  of  caution. 
This  confessedly  is  delicate  ground  ;  but  why  not  make  a 
stand  upon  it  in  the  fear  of  God  ?  whilst  the  cause  and 
glory  of  the  Redeemer  was  most  emphatically  the  primum 
mobile  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  zeal,  yet  might  there  not  be 
something  of  himself  in  these  preternatural  exertions  ?  it 
could  not  all  be  of  the  Lord.  It  would  be  wrong  to  speak 
dogmatically  on  so  tender  a  point ;  but  such  is  the  opinion 
of  one  of  the  most  pious  and  judicious  individuals  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted  ;  who  however  observed,  that  he 
should  almost  fear  to  utter  such  a  sentiment,  lest  it  should 
be  mistaken,  or  misrepresented,  or  abused.  Who,  after 
reading  the  accounts  above,  can  help  thinking,  that  on 
such  occasions,  if  amidst  the  whirlwind,  and  earthquake, 
and  fire,  he  could  for  a  moment  have  covered  his  face,  and 
in  the  silence  of  his  spirit  have  listened,  he  might  possibly 
have  heard  a  "  still  small  voice,"  saying,  "  who  hath  re- 
quired this  of  thee  V 

And  yet,  amidst  all  these  labours,  he  records  his  resolu- 
tion : — "  I  am  determined  to  begin  this  week  with  Ii\ang 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


131 


more  in  my  room,  and  in  my  bible  ;  I  have  lost  much  in 
this  respect ;  and  I  am  too  apt  to  walk  out,  and  trifle  my 
precious — precious  time !"  He  had  a  few  days  before 
laudably  "made  up  his  mind  against  Sunday  dinners  from 
home." 

It  is  matter  of  satisfaction  to  transcribe  the  following 
passage,  although  somewhat  ditJuse,  from  the  entry  which 
he  made  in  his  Diary  on  the  31st  of  January.  It  shows 
how  his  whole  soul  was  on  the  stretch,  to  be  entirely  de- 
voted to  God. — "  This  is  my  birth  day  ;  oh  I  what  matter 
have  I  for  shame  and  confusion  of  face  !  Wlien  I  look  back 
on  myself,  I  see  great  cause  for  self-abasement — I  see  that 
ever  since  I  began  to  preach,  my  time  has  not  been  im- 
proved ;  occupied  in  visiting,  (the  destruction  of  some  of 
our  young  preachers  whom  I  could  name,)  and  travelUng 
from  place  to  place  ;  mixing  necessarily  with  various  com- 
panies of  people,  and  not  being  guarded  agauist  that  levity 
which  creeps  inadvertently  upon  me ; — all  these  combined 
have  produced  a  disUke  to  closet  duties,  meditation  of  the 
word,  and  prayer.  Though  I  feel  with  shame  my  short 
comings,  yet  I  am  thankful  that  God  has  not  given  me 
over  to  hardness  of  heart ;  my  conscience  is  not  yet  seared 
as  with  a  hot  uon.  I  find,  that  if  I  look  for,  and  expect 
my  God  to  own  my  labours,  I  must  live  a  life  different 
fiom  most  of  oxu:  preachers,  for  whom  my  heart  melts. 
Oh,  Zion  !  oh.  Heaven  ! — thy  cause  !  thy  cause  !  thy 
great  concern !  and  yet  how  httle  it  seems  to  occupy  their 
attention  !    With  regard  to  many  of  them,  it  seems  to 

M 


130 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


as  he  was,  he  preached  the  following  morning,  though  his 
"  body  almost  refused  its  functions,"  and  he  rather  "  cried 
aloud,"  than  spoke  as  he  was  wont : — it  would  be  painful 
here  to  detail  the  sufferings  which  constituted  the  natural 
sequel  of  such  agonies  of  extacy. 

Now  who  would  have  dared  to  have  quenched  such  a 
spirit  ?  j'^et  to  those  who  may  be  seduced  to  follow  his  ex- 
ample, it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  a  word  of  caution. 
This  confessedly  is  delicate  ground  ;  but  why  not  make  a 
stand  upon  it  in  the  fear  of  God  ?  whilst  tlie  cause  and 
glory  of  the  Redeemer  was  most  emphatically  the  primuvi 
mobile  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  zeal,  yet  might  there  not  be 
something  of  himself  in  these  preternatural  exertions  ?  it 
could  not  all  be  of  the  Lord.  It  would  be  wrong  to  speak 
dogmatically  on  so  tender  a  point ;  but  such  is  the  opinion 
of  one  of  the  most  pious  and  judicious  individuals  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted  ;  who  however  observed,  that  he 
should  almost  fear  to  utter  such  a  sentiment,  lest  it  should 
be  mistaken,  or  misrepresented,  or  abused.  Who,  after 
reading  the  accounts  above,  can  help  thinking,  that  on 
such  occasions,  if  amidst  the  whirlwind,  and  earthquake, 
and  fire,  he  could  for  a  moment  have  covered  his  face,  and 
in  the  silence  of  his  spirit  have  listened,  he  might  possibly 
have  heard  a  "  still  small  voice,"  sajong,  "  who  hath  re- 
quired this  of  thee  f 

And  yet,  amidst  all  these  labours,  he  records  his  resolu- 
tion : — "  I  am  determined  to  begin  this  week  with  living 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


131 


more  in  my  room,  and  in  my  bible  ;  I  have  lost  much  in 
this  respect ;  and  I  am  too  apt  to  walk  out,  and  trifle  my 
precious — precious  time !"  He  had  a  few  days  before 
laudably  "made  up  his  mind  against  Sunday  dinners  from 
home." 

It  is  matter  of  satisfaction  to  transcribe  the  following 
passage,  although  somewhat  diffuse,  from  the  entry  which 
he  made  in  his  Diary  on  the  31st  of  January.  It  shows 
how  his  whole  soul  was  on  the  stretch,  to  be  entirely  de- 
voted to  God. — "  This  is  my  birth  day  ;  oh  I  what  matter 
have  I  for  shame  and  confusion  of  face  !  Wlien  I  look  back 
on  myself,  I  see  great  cause  for  self-abasement — I  see  that 
ever  since  I  began  to  preach,  my  time  has  not  been  im- 
proved ;  occupied  in  visiting,  (the  destruction  of  some  of 
our  young  preachers  whom  I  could  name,)  and  travellmg 
from  place  to  place  ;  mixing  necessarily  with  various  com- 
panies of  people,  and  not  being  guarded  against  that  levity 
which  creeps  inadvertently  upon  me  ; — all  these  combined 
have  produced  a  dishke  to  closet  duties,  meditation  of  the 
word,  and  prayer.  Though  I  feel  with  shame  my  short 
comings,  yet  I  am  thankful  that  God  has  not  given  me 
over  to  hardness  of  heart ;  my  conscience  is  not  yet  seared 
as  with  a  hot  uon.  I  find,  that  if  I  look  for,  and  expect 
my  God  to  own  my  labours,  I  must  live  a  life  different 
from  most  of  our  preachers,  for  whom  my  heart  melts. 
Oh,  Zion  !  oh.  Heaven  ! — thy  cause  !  thy  cause  !  thy 
great  concern !  and  yet  how  Uttle  it  seems  to  occupy  their 
attention  !    With  regard  to  many  of  them,  it  seems  to 

M 


134 


MEMOIRS  or  THE 


heart,  so  that  my  rejoicing  may  be,  that  '  in  sincerity  and 
godly  simplicity,  I  may  have  my  convei  sation  in  the  world.' 
May  my  God  enable  me  to  be  more  circumspect  ;  and  as 
I  commence  anew  in  preacliing,  more  from  study  than 
from  art  and  memory,  may  my  hfe  be  commenced  anew ; 
and  may  I  die  in  the  service,  and  reign  wath  him  for  ever !" 

How  just  are  the  foregomg  remarks — how  pious  the  wri- 
ter's determination  ! — There  may,  however,  be  excess,  and 
consequently  danger,  both  ways,  for  ministers.  They  must 
not  be  ascetics,  any  more  than  they  ought  to  be  merry  compa- 
nions, wasting  their  animal  spirits,  and  losing  theii-  gracious 
fears,  even  in  the  society  of  religious  people.  "  It  is  not  good 
for  man  to  be  alone" — even  as  a  minister,  and  a  stranger  to 
his  people  in  every  other  character ;  nor  is  it  good  to  have  a 
plurality  of  associates,  so  as  to  dissipate  the  affections  in 
their  diffusion  ;  but  there  may  be  somethmg  hke  wedded 
love  in  the  ministerial  office, — a  family  circle,  in  which  he 
may  move,  and  shine,  and  lead  the  way  to  heaven  ;  ex- 
emplifying, as  our  Saviour  did,  his  doctrines  in  his  hfe, — 
and  making  things  lovely  in  reality,  whiph  in  pulpit  repre- 
sentation appear  repulsive  and  hard  to  flesh  and  blood. 
Oh,  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  to  "adorn  the 
doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things  !" 

The  absolute  distribution  of  his  time,  compels  this 
objection  against  its  imitation  by  others,  that  its  exempli- 
fication was  soon  found  impracticable,  even  by  so  rigid  a 
devotee  as  the  conscientious  Summerfield  himself  If  men 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


135 


will  make  such  fetters  for  themselves,  they  ought  to  make 
them  at  least  loose  enough  to  correspond  \vith  Christ's  own 
easy  j'oke,  and  not  binding  and  galling  like  the  ceremonial 
law,  wliich  "  neither  we  nor  our  fatliers  were  able  to  bear." 
There  are  sins  enough  both  of  omission  and  commission, 
into  wliich  the  most  watchful  christian  will  be  hourly  ui 
danger  of  falliaig,  without  making  occasions  for  sin,  by 
voluntary  obligations  which  become  involimtary  from  usage, 
and  from  which  the  prisoner  who  has  thus  bound  his  own 
hands  and  feet,  like  Agabus  witli  Paul's  girdle,  cannot  dis- 
entangle himself,  without  l)ringing — not  guilt  perhaps — 
but  certainly  darkness  and  confusion  into  his  mind. 

His  detcrmuiation  to  choose  a  text  evei-]j  day,  as  a  motto 
for  meditation,  was  a  most  profitable  and  easy  obligation, 
iu  which  there  need  be  no  sn.are  to  entrap  the  tenderest 
consciences.  He  borrowed  this  from  his  IMoravian  recol- 
lections. In  the  congregations  of  the  Bretliren,  there  are 
two  texts,  and  lines  from  certain  hymns,  appointed  for 
meditation  every  day  in  the  year. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr. 
Summerfield  by  his  father,  will  show  how  devoutly  his 
beloved  parent  participated  in  the  common  satisfaction  of 
his  son's  ministerial  success.  Tlie  letter  is  dated  from 
Cork,  February  4th,  1819.—"  Take  care  to  dwell  in  the 
divmc  bosom  ;  be  faithfid  in  heaven's  first  concern  ;  be  a 
firm  friend  to  her  bleeding  interests ;  five  much  in  the 
closet,   and  you  will  be  useful  in  the  pulpit.  Fol- 


136 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


low  the  God-Man  as  your  example  in  all  things  ; 
keep  company  with  a  Fletcher,  a  Wesley,  and  a  Bax- 
ter, who  will  shine  us  stars  in  the  firmament  for  ever. 
In  yon,  God  has  given  ine  my  heart's  desire  ;  and  my  first 
<  oucern  on  earth  is,  that  God  may  be  honoured  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  grand  design,  in  bringing  to  glory  the 
lost  posterity  of  Adam  ;  and  my  daily  prayer  is,  that  you 
may  be  the  honoured  instrument  in  turning  tliousands 
;uid  tens  of  thousands  to  himself;  this  is  not  too  much  lo 
ask  of  bleeding  love." 

Although  his  constitution  was  at  this  period  much  shat- 
tered, his  labours  were  unremitting.  On  the  9tli  of  Fe- 
bruary, amidst  notices  of  floods  of  heavenly  light  poured 
upon  certain  portions  of  Scripture,  and  uncommon  sweetness 
in  his  noon  tide  devotions,  he  incidentally  remarks,  "  My 
bodily  frame  is  quite  decayed ;"  and  yet  ten  days  after- 
ward, he  notes  that  in  the  preceding  week  he  had  rode 
forty-one  miles,  and  preached  ten  times !  If  a  man  will  set 
his  house  on  fire,  and  employ  himself  as  long  as  he  can, 
in  throwing  his  most  precious  furniture  into  the  flames,  what 
can  he  expect,  but  that  all  will  soon  be  reduced  to  ashes  ? 

On  the  14th  of  February,  he  preached  a  missionary 
sermon  at  Birr,  and  collected  treble  the  amount  of  any 
former  occasion.  On  the  following  day,  he  addressed  a 
large  congregation  of  children  at  the  same  place,  and 
j)leased  them  so  well,  that  at  their  own  desire  a  collection 
was  made,  and  they  gave  — /.    He  often  addressed 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


137 


auditories  of  young  people  in  after  years.  Among  the 
Moravian?;  he  had  been  accustomed  to  those  services. 
which  are  very  frequent  Avith  them,  under  the  denomina- 
tion of  "  Children's  Meetings,"^ — and  m  such  meetings,  no 
doubt,  the  seed  was  sown,  which  on  this  very  15th  of  Fe- 
bruary was  producing  good  fmit  in  his  own  heart  and 
life,  and  enabling  him,  having  as  a  child  "  freely  received" 
of  the  good  word  of  God,  "  freely  to  communicate"'  of  the 
same  to  little  children ; — aye,  and  to  obtain  an  earnest  in 
hand,  that  it  would  produce  right  fruit  in  due  season  in 
some  of  their  hearts. 

On  the  27th  of  Febraary,  he  arrived  safe  at  liis  father's 
house  in  Cork ;  and  decUned  an  invitation  to  preach  on 
the  following  day,  because  his  "  body  required  some  rest." 
And  well  it  might  :  as  on  the  preceding  evening  he  thus 
sums  up  the  amount  of  his  labours  : — "  I  have  preached 
now  fifty  times,  since  I  left  Dubhn  this  time ;  which  is 
seven  weeks  since :  and  I  have  in  that  period  travelled 
three  hundred  and  sixty-two  miles  up  to  Cork."  A  man 
may  be  prodigal  of  God's  spiritual  gifts,  as  well  as  of  pro- 
vidential ones,  and  in  both  mstances  want  must  follow 
waste, — or  early  exhaustion  be  the  consequence  of  reck- 
less profusion.  Let  any  learned  and  experienced  chris- 
tian minister  say,  whether  a  young  man— twenty-two 
years  of  age,  and  scarcely  twelve  months  old  as  a  preacher — 
ihd  right  to  spend  and  be  spent  after  tliis  rate.  Travelhng 
three  hundred  and  sixty-two  miles,  and  preaching  fifty 
times  in  seven  weeks  ! — "  a  frame  of  adamant,  a  soul  of 
m2  18 


138 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


fire,"  would  be  worn  out  with  such  jjeipetuity  of  feverish 
excitement ;  what  then  could  a  frail  body,  with  a  hectic 
constitution,  do — or  rather,  what  must  it  suffer,  in  such  a 
case  ?  To  adopt  an  elegant  simile  from  my  fi  iend  Mont- 
gomery, elicited  by  a  perusal  of  the  forementioned  entry  : 
"  I  have  seen  fire  carried  in  a  handful  of  dry  grass,  hastily, 
lest  it  should  burst  out  into  flame,  to  light  a  heap  of  stub- 
ble, in  autumn, — and  I  have  seen  it  instantaneously  con- 
sumed when  appUed  to  the  materials  thus  collected.  Sum- 
merfield  so  carried  his  life  in  his  hands,  and  though  he 
was  enabled  to  kindle  heap  after  lieap, — at  last — and 
long  before  his  time,  as  man  would  say — he  was  compelled 
fo  let  it  drop — it  fell  to  ashes — for  it  was  but  tinder  at  the 
first.  Let  others  be  warned,  who  like  him  have  the  holy 
flame  in  their  hearts,  wapt  round  with  the  weeds  of  the 
body,  lest  that  which  burns  within,  consume  that  which  is 
without ;  and  thus  become  itself  extinct  (on  earth  at  least) 
for  lack  of  fuel.  It  ought  to  be  cherished,  not  opened  to 
the  whole  atmosphere  at  once,  any  more  than  suffocated 
l>y  being  too  closely  prest."  But  this  devoted  young  man. 
upon  whom  rested  so  much  of  "  the  spirit  and  power  of 
Elias,"  although  he  lived  a  dying  life,  experienced  in  the 
sequel  as  little  of  death  as  could  consist  with  a  translation 
from  life  to  iimnortality; — indeed  his  progress  from  earth  to 
heaven  all  but  resembled  the  ascent  of  the  prophet  of 
mount  Carmel ;  in  faith,  in  labour,  in  devotion — he  "  went 
up  in  a  chariot  of  fire  ;" — who  in  England — Ireland — 
America,  hath  caught  his  mantle  ? 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


139 


Beiiig  now  at  home,  he  was  frequently  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  his  father  ;  this,  and  other  engagements,  led  liim 
frequently  to  lament  his  defective  performance  of  many  of 
his  birth-day  resolutions.  Indeed,  the  task  was  impractica- 
ble to  hun,  as  he  was  circumstanced  :  and  he  who  attempts 
to  do  more  than  he  can,  frequently  in  reality  does  less,  be- 
cause he  spends  much  of  liis  strength  for  nought,  and 
wearies  his  spirit  with  fretting  and  remorse.  To  these 
chances  the  susceptible  subject  of  these  pages  was  inevi- 
tably exposed  ;  hence  his  frequent  complaints  of  losing  or 
mis-spending  time,  in  company,  on  a  journey,  or  in  his 
father's  house. 

A  few  passages  indicative  of  his  spiritual  state  at  this 
period  will  be  acceptable.  Feb.  28.  "  I  grew  this  day  in 
grace  and  knowledge  ;  the  sacred  page  had  new  beauties 
and  ideas  to  my  soul."  larch  4.  "My  mind  has  been 
sweetly  exercising  faith  in  Jesus  this  day,  and  T  see  the 
dawn  of  day."  March  7th.  "  My  Jesus  was  precious  to 
me  this  morning ;  my  heart  was  melted  down,  and  he 
gave  rae  a  sweet  foretaste  of  the  good  things  of  this  day." 
March  8.  I  am  quite  hoarse  to  day,  after  yesterday's  ex- 
ertions ;  but  my  Jesus  has  paid  me  for  it  all,  by  a  sweet 
sense  of  his  love,  which  I  feel  upon  me."'  March  10.  "  My 
mind  is  truly  dejected  ;  for  these  last  two  days  I  have  been 
iji  Gethsemane— I  long  for  the  time  of  refreshing — Come, 
jny  Lord,  come  quickly — I  cried  unto  the  Lord  ;  he  heard 
me,  and  deUvered  me  from  all  my  troubles.  I  seldom  had 
such  a  pouring  out  of  the  divine  glory  !    Bless  the  Lord, 


140 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


oh  !  my  soul ;  magnify  his  great  name  ! — AppUed  myself 
to  reading  principally  in  the  book."  Next  morning — 
"  Commenced  my  Bible  again — my  mind  is  much  happier 
this  day  than  yesterday — I  have  a  little  faith,  a  little  love, 
a  little  labour — oh,  my  Lord,  do  thou  increase  it  ?"  There 
is  nothing  more  exemplary  in  Summerfield's  preparations 
for  ministerial  labours,  than  his  devoted  attention  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures — he  drew  water  for  himself  from  the  well- 
springs  of  salvation,  and  he  drew  it  with  joy,  that  he 
might  refresh  his  own  soul,  before  he  went  to  call  aloud 
to  others — "  Ho,  evei  y  one  that  thirsteth,"  &c. 

Toward  the  latter  end  of  March  he  was  seriously  indis- 
posed ;  violent  pains  and  retchings  of  the  stomach,  accom- 
panied with  other  alarming  symptoms,  led  him  and  his 
friends  to  apprehend  that  danger  was  at  hand.  Ill,  how- 
ever, as  he  was,  he  neither  remitted  his  studies,  nor  forbore 
his  pulpit  labours,  while  he  could  attend  to  either.  He 
had  no  mercy  upon  himself ;  nor,  as  it  appears,  were  any 
of  his  counsellors  merciful  unto  him.  There  is  but  too 
much  truth  in  the  following  extract  of  a  letter,  addressed 
to  him  by  the  Rev.  S.  Steele,  dated  April  2d : — "  I  am 
sorry  to  find  that  your  health  is  worse  than  it  was  when 
you  were  here.  Preaching  so  often  in  the  week,  to  large 
congregations,  is  too  great  an  exercise  of  body  and  mind 
for  your  constitution — but  you  will  learn  to  be  wise,  when 
it  is  too  late.  There  are  many  of  the  Methodists,  who  in 
their  godly  zeal,  would  encourage  you  to  preach,  until  you 
would  drop  down  dead.    But  remember,  neither  God  nor 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  141 

man  will  thank  you  for  what  may  be  called  religious 
stMcjrfe."  And  yet  the  main  object  of  this  very  letter  was 
to  solicit  his  services  at  Roscrea  ! 

On  the  13th  of  April,  Mr.  Summerfield  attended  the 
annual  meetuigof  the  Sunday  School  Association,  in  Dub- 
lin, Mr.  Sheriff  White  in  the  chair.  On  this  occasion  he 
delivered  what  himself  calls  his  "maiden  speech,"  for 
although  he  had  prepared  his  mind  to  speak  at  a  missionary 
meeting  some  months  before,  a  change  in  the  resolutions 
prevented  him  from  saying  what  he  intended — indeed 
what  he  had  prepared — for  draughts  of  both  speeches  are 
lying  before  me — from  the  latter  of  which,  especially,  I 
would  gladly  transcribe  a  specimen,  if  it  were  possible  so  to 
translate  the  abbreviations,  and  follow  out  the  hints,  as  to 
present  the  writer's  idea :  it  would  not,  however,  especially 
in  this  instance,  be  proper  to  attempt  the  experiment. 

I  am  sorry,  that  among  the  hundreds  of  interesting  en- 
I  ries  in  this  diary,  to  wlrich  economy  of  space  compels  me 
to  omit  all  allusion,  must  be  ranked  the  names  of  many 
j)laces  and  persons,  which  the  writer  has  mentioned  with 
iiflection.  To  omit  the  following,  would  resemble  injustice 
towards  both  parties  : — "  April  28.  We  arrived  at  Mr.  Per- 
rin's,  (at  Wicklow,)  where  we  were  most  cordially  received. 
This  family  spoil  me  with  too  much  kindness  ;  Mrs.  Nolan, 
(he  eldest  daughter,  is  the  most  loving  companion  I  ever 
met  with  ;  indeed,  I  know  not  whom  to  admire  the  most  ; 
Mrs.  Perrin  is  a  mother  indeed." 


142 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Polemical  disquisitions  are  rarely  introduced  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  voluminous  di.ary  to  wliich  reference  has 
heen  so  often  and  so  complacently  made.  This  remarkable 
absence  of  allusion  to  disputed  topics,  arose  neither  from  any 
defection  or  looseness  in  Mr.  Summerfield's  religious  creed, 
nor  from  any  want  of  ability  in  him  to  comprehend  or  to 
maintain  the  beneficent  doctrines  held  by  that  great  body  of 
Christians,  with  which  he  was  unitr^d  :  but  rather,  I.  That 
as  his  education  had  not  been  regularly  scholastic,  he  had  not 
been  made  to  fight  his  way  from  error  to  truth — or  rather, 
perhaps,  from  one  region  of  truth  to  another,  over  the  de- 
batable ground  of  metaphysical  distinctions  ;  and,  II.  That 
as  the  conversion  of  his  own  soul,  and  a  participation  of  the 
divine  favour,  had  been  experienced  by  him  in  consequence 
of  his  own  simple  belief  in  the  record  which  God  has 
given  of  his  Son  ; — so  he,  immediately  beginning 

"  To  declare  to  all  around, 

What  a  dear  Saviour  he  had  found," 

at  the  same  time  exhorting  others  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come,  and,  as  he  had  done,  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life — 
had,  in  consequence,  httle  opportunity,  and  less  inclination, 
to  enter  into  disputations  about  "  things  not  revealed." 

That  he  would  not  shun  the  discussion  of  these  dogmas, 
when  imperiously  challenged  thereto,  and  when  to  have 
shrunk  might  have  exposed  him  to  the  imputation  of 
cowardice  at  least,  is  evident  from  the  following  extraordi- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


143 


nary  transaction,  the  account  of  wliich,  as  it  is  necessarily 
derived  from,  will  therefore  be  best  introduced  in,  his  own 
words  : — "  May  3.  Monday,  7  o'clock,  morning,  preached 
again,  [at  Racket's  town,]  and  a  gracious  season  we  had 
indeed;  the  Lord  gave  us  a  new  week's  blessing. — After 
visiting  some  of  the  brethren,  Mr.  Waugh  and  I  proceeded 
to  Baltinglass,  eight  miles. 

Mr.  Walker,  the  great  Calvinist  preacher,  had  been 
here,  and  indeed  was  here  when  we  anived.  He  had 
preached  in  the  town,  and  much  injured  the  minds  of  our 
jwople  ;  some  weak  ones  nearly  turned  aside  by  the  decrees. 
With  pain  we  heard  this  account ;  and  having  obtained 
the  sessions-house  from  Captain  Stratford,  I  preached  at  7 
o'clock,  to  an  immense  crowd,  an  Anti-Calvinist  sermon  ; 
the  Lord  gave  me  great  power  and  hberty,  and  I  was  re- 
quested to  preach  again  in  the  morning. 

"  May  4.  I  again  preached  on  the  same  subject.  The 
weak  ones  were  confirmed,  and  my  Lord  shook  the  strong 
holds  of  Calvinism,  and  maintained  his  own  truth. 

"  A  challenge  was  sent  me  by  that  party  to  dispute  on 
the  doctrines  ;  I  accepted  it,  in  the  name  and  strength  of 
my  God,  and  for  three  hours  we  debated  it.  They  were 
quite  vanquished  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  we  left 
Baltinglass  in  great  prosperity." 

'J'liis,  of  course,  is  an  ex  parte  statement ; — there  is,  how- 


144 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


ever,  no  occasion  to  question  its  fidelity,  because  the  writer 
was  incapable  of  wilful  misrepresentation.  Besides,  the 
entry  was  made  for  his  own  private  use  merely ;  for  Sum- 
merfield  must  have  known  very  little  of  Calvinism,  as  it  is 
called,  had  he  ever  published  to  the  world  the  triumph  in 
which  he  appears  to  have  indulged  on  the  above  occasion. 
He  may  have-  vanquished  the  men  with  whom  he  had  to 
fight — and  this  is  what  he  means — for  if  he  had  indeed, 
with  the  sword  of  the  spirit,  cut  the  knot  of  God's  un- 
searchable decrees,  and  explained  the  eternal  secret  of  the 
freedom  of  the  human  will,  still  bound  to  choose  what  it 
approves — surely  he  ought  in  mercy  to  good  men,  whether 
Methodists  or  Calvinists,  to  have  revealed  it,  and  saved 
millions  of  millions  of  pangs  and  anxieties — to  say  nothing 
of  time  saved  from  vain  disputation  on  the  subject,  in  all 
ages  to  come,  as  in  all  ages  past,  to  such  characters.  How 
easy  it  is  to  make  men  of  straw,  and  draw  them  on  hur- 
dles, and  hang  them,  and  burn  them,  either  as  Methodists, 
or  Calvinists  !  Yet  these  autos  da  fe,  on  both  sides,  are  a- 
impotent  as  the  Guy  Faux  executions  of  children  on  gun- 
powder plot  day, — but  they  are  not  so  innocent.  These 
remarks  must  not  be  tortured  into  any  thing  like  a  re- 
pudiation of  Arminianism,  the  distinguishing  tenets  of 
which  the  present  miter  subscribes  to,  from  his  heart ; 
much  less  must  they  be  regarded  as  an  attempt  to  relax 
the  sternness  of  theological  truth.  It  did,  however,  ap- 
pear a  Christian  duty  to  embrace  this  opportunity  of  ex- 
horting those  who  profess  to  draw  their  weapons  from  the 
same  armoury — the  Holy  Scriptures — instead  of  using 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


145 


them  against  one  anotlier,  to  turn  them  against  the  com- 
mon enemy. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  he  had  a  narrow  escape  with  his 
life,  in  consequence  of  a  fall  from  his  horse,  just  as  he  en- 
tered Dublin  ;  that  he  was  not  killed  on  the  spot,  nor  his 
horse  injured,  he  gratefully  ascribes  to  the  providence  of 
God.  Had  he  been  half  as  much  in  fear  of  himself,  as  he 
was  of  his  horse,  on  this  occasion,  he  might  have  escaped 
with  his  life  much  longer, — and  not  have  died,  as  he  did, 
by  a  fall  from  himself. 

Notwithstanding  this  misfortune,  by  which  he  received 
serious  internal  injury,  he  preached  on  the  fourth  day 
afterwards,  to  a  large  congregation,  for  the  benefit  of  a 
Female  Oi-phan  Asylum.  The  effect  of  this  sermon  will 
not  soon  be  forgotten  by  those  who  heard  it.  He  called  to 
mind  the  affection  of  his  own  mother,  and  the  motherless 
state  of  his  two  younger  sisters  ;  the  current  of  emotion 
thus  drawn  out  of  his  own  bosom,  flowed  into  the  current 
of  feeUng  which  his  description  drew  from  the  hearts  of 
others ;  and  the  impression  became  so  powerful  and  general, 
that  utterance  failed  him,  and  he  sat  down,  beckoning  the 
children  to  stand  up  and  finish  the  plea  for  their  cause  witli 
silent  eloquence  !  He  sat  bathed  in  tears,  and  expectorating 
a  quantity  of  blood,  which  had  collected  on  his  lungs  since 
his  accident,  and  which,  in  connection  with  his  unremitting 
exertions,  brought  him,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  to  the 
very  gate  of  the  grave. 

N  19 


146 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


In  addition  to  all  that  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of 
"making  rules  to  live  by,"  see  the  following  reflections,  at 
the  close  of  May  18th  : — "I  see  I  have  of  late  neglected  my 
time  in  an  alarming  way,  and  I  find  that  when  time  is  loi- 
tered away,  grace  is  dechning  in  the  heart.  I  was  much 
struck  with  an  advice  in  a  magazine,  '  to  hve  by  rule' — I 
have  often  resolved,  and  often  broken  ;  in  the  strength  of 
Christ  I  will  begin  again.  I  am  resolved  to  be  in  bed  at 
10  o'clock  every  night,  and  rise  at  4. — 4 — 5  in  the  morn- 
ing; 12 — 1  mid  day;  5 — 6  evening,  shall  be  hours  sacred 
to  God ;  for  prayer,  meditation,  and  reading  his  word — no 
less  a  proportion  of  time  will  do  for  me :  and  half 
past  9  to  10  before  retiring.  The  remainder  of  my  time 
to  be  regularly  accounted  for,  and  dealt  out  with  circum- 
spection," &c.  What  premeditated  though  unconscious 
'suicide  is  involved  in  these  resolutions !  Yet  who  could 
have  forbidden  the  self-offering  to  the  Lord  ! — but  after  all, 
as  already  intimated,  it  is  as  "  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and 
acceptable  to  God,  which  is  our  reasona6Ze service;"  we  are 
besought  "  by  the  mercies  of  God,"  to  surrender  our  bodies 
— emphatically  our  bodies,  (including  our  souls  with  all 
their  powers  and  affections,)  because  when  the  body  is  burnt 
out,  the  sacrifice  is  complete,  as  was  the  case  with  the 
victims  on  the  altar  in  the  temple  ; — whatever  service 
may  be  required  in  the  temple  not  made  with  hands,  from 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  it  will  not  be  sacrifice. 
The  sacrifice  on  earth,  then,  ought  to  be  made  as  perfect — 
as  long  in  endiirance— as  possible.  It  will  be  in  vain  to 
say  in  defence  of  such  self-immolation  as  Summerfield's, 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


147 


that  the  "  lire  from  God"  descended  and  consumed  the 
holocaust  at  once,  hke  Ehjah's  on  Caimel ;  for  even  if 
this  were  evident  beyond  doubt  (which  it  is  not)  in  his 
case,  let  others  beware  lest  they  destroy  themselves  as 
early,  by  a  conflagration  from  sparks  of  their  own  kindling. 
But  what  does  this  example  say  to  those  who  sacrifice  no- 
thing of  themselves — or  at  best,  bring  oblations  of  no  value 
to  the  Lord's  altar  ? 

At  the  close  of  tlie  month  of  May,  he  proceeded,  accord- 
ing to  invitation,  to  Waterford,  "  where,"  says  he,  "  the 
friends  were  glad  to  see  me,  and  none  more  so  than  my 
beloved  brother  W.  Stewart ;  he  is  an  IsraeUte  indeed,  in 
whom  is  no  guile."  At  this  place,  he  was  seized  with  a 
profuse  spitting  of  blood,  to  which,  indeed,  he  had  become 
alarmingly  subject.  His  friends  were  justly  frightened, 
(though  himself  "  felt  happy  under  the  afHiction,")  and 
called  in  an  eminent  physician,  Dr.  Poole,  who  blooded 
him  for  the  first  time,  and  interdirted  him  frnjn  preaching : 
this  was  on  the  Saturday  ;  and  yet,  as  Mr.  Stewart  informs 
me,  he  was  with  difficulty  restrauied  from  appearing  in 
the  pulpit  on  the  following  day  ! 

An  event  of  great  importance  in  the  settlement — or 
rather,  as  it  turned  out,  the  unsettlement  of  this  heavenly 
minded  man,  in  after  hfe,  occurred  at  tliis  period.  Having 
in  the  month  of  March  preceding,  been  formally  proposed 
to  travel  as  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist  connexion  ;  and 
having  satisfactorily  answered  the  questions,  usually  put 


148 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


to  candidates  for  the  ministry  ;  Mr.  Summerfield  proceeded, 
with  his  friend  Mr.  Stewart,  from  Waterford  to  attend  the 
Irish  Conference,  held  in  Dubhn,  at  which  city  they 
arrived  in  safety  on  the  30th  of  June.  His  case  was  now 
officially,  and  anxiously  considered  ;  and  it  appeared,  after 
very  mature  dehberation,  that  the  delicacy  of  his  health, 
at  that  time,  and  the  consequent  improbability  of  his  being 
long  able  to  endure  the  difficulties  and  fatigues  of  itinerancy 
in  Ireland,  forbade  the  experiment  of  appointing  him 
forthwith  to  a  circuit.  And  the  Conference  was  thus 
induced  to  suspend  the  execution  of  their  eager  wish  of 
sending  him  to  travel,  for  another  year,  hoping  that  liis 
health  might  in  the  interim  be  restored.  Meanwhile,  he 
was  appointed  to  fill  Mr.  Maynes'  place  in  Dublin,  till  that 
preacher  should  return,  with  the  other  Irish  delegates,  from 
the  British  Conference.  "Alas  !  alas  !" — says  he,  on 
receiving  tliis  appointment,  "  I  know  not  how  I  can  bear 
ibis  burden !  oh  !  Lord,  my  God,  be  thou  my  strength." 

During  the  Conference  season  in  Dublin,  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Methodist  Missionary  Society  was  held 
there,  and  at  which  the  Rev.  J.  Edmondson  presided.  On 
this  occasion,  Mr.  Summerfield,  in  moving  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  the  Enghsh  committee,  made  a  speech,  which  not  a 
little  confirmed  to  the  Enghsh  preachers  present,  the  reports 
which  they  had  heard  of  his  piety  and  his  talents.  On 
this,  as  on  a  previous  occasion,  I  might  remark  upon  the 
difficulty,  not  to  say  the  impropriety,  of  giving,  as  a  speci- 
men of  a  speech,  any  portion  of  memoranda  merely  made 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


149 


to  assist  the  speaker's  memory.  I  shall  however  give  a 
passage,  which  refers  to  a  name  consecrated  in  Missionary 
annals  ;  it  is  merely  the  radical  idea,  and  was  beautifully 
imfolded  in  passing  thiough  the  speaker's  hps,  but  I  con- 
fine myself  to  the  words  of  his  incipient  draught : — "  The 
idea  of  christianizing  the  Asiatic  world  was  one  which 
seemed  too  great  for  human  conception. — Yes,  sir,  the 
very  idea  was  one  which  could  only  have  had  birth  in 
an  apostle's  mind !  But  yet  there  was  found  a  man 
among  the  tribes  of  om-  spiritual  Israel,  possessed  of  a 
mind  which  conceived  the  grand  design  : — to  the  earthen 
vessel  which  contained  the  deposit,  men  gave  the  name 
of  Coke  ! — heaven  will  reveal  his  true  name  in  '  that 
day !'  In  his  devotedness  to  the  service  of  his  God,  and 
the  best  interests  of  mankind,  he  was  equalled  by  few — 
surpassed  by  none  .'  At  the  feet  of  his  Master,  he  laid  his 
wealth, — his  ease, — his  honour, — his  character, — nay,  his 
life  itself  !  He  sacrificed  all ! — he  was  the  slave  of  slaves  ! 
unwearied  in  the  work  of  heaven,  no  dangers  could  in- 
timidate— no  allurements  seduce  him  from  his  one  pursuit 
— he  was  hke  Paul — hke  Wesley,  a  man  of  one  business  ! 
Ceylon  had  long  been  the  object  of  his  contemplation,  and 
the  fulfilment  of  his  wishes  and  his  prayers  seemed  now 
accompUshed  ;  preparations  made,  and  standard  bearers 
obtained  who  were  wilhng  to  carry  the  banners  of  the 
cross,  he  quits  his  native  shore  !  You,  sir,  followed  him 
well  nigh  to  the  beach,  and  little  thought  to  see  his  face 
no  more  ! — But  he  is  not ! — for  God  took  him  ! — Not  far 
distant  from  the  promised  land,  his  Master  called  him 


150 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


to  a  higher  mount  than  Pisgah's  top,  to  vaew  the  goodly 
shore :  he  heard  Him  say,  '  Come  vp  hither ;'  welcome 
suimnons  to  his  waiting  soul ! — The  body  of  this  Moses 
has  indeed  been  hidden  from  us;  but  we  dispute  not 
concerning  it,  for  we  sorrow  not  as  those  without  hope : 
we  take  the  Bible  in  our  hands,  and  inscribe  beneath  his 
name,  *  pleasant  in  Ufe,  and  in  death  not  divided  !'  The 
dispensation  seemed  severe  to  human  ken  ;  to  him  it  was 
merciful  !  His  death  seemed  without  pain;  his  frame  was 
not  worn  with  disease,  nor  his  features  distorted  with  agony; 
and  his  body  sunk  in  the  flood,  as  it  will  arise  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  resurrection — with  a  blooming,  heavenly 
countenance !  He  shall  not  be  forgotten ;  for  in  the  day 
when  Christ  shall  gather  up  his  jewels,  Coke  shall  be  col- 
lected from  the  ocean's  bed,  a  diamond  of  the  purest 
water  ! — Pardon  me,  my  brethren,  I  dwell  on  his  name 
with  pleasure;  I  loved  the  man — I  love  his  memory  still; 
—you  knew  his  worth, — you  know  his  great  reward  ;  and 
though  no  marble  urn  can  boast  of  concealing  his  remains, 
his  name  is  engraven  upon  all  your  hearts ;  and  while 
unadulterated  goodness,  ennobling  talent,  genuine  worth, 
and  sterluig  piety,  shall  find  one  lover  among  men,  the 
name  of  Coke  shall  be  preserved  from  the  ravages  of  time, 
and  finally  displayed  with  all  its  glories  in  the  archives 
of  the  upper  and  the  better  world  !" 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


161 


SECTIOIf  IX. 

Religious  experience — resolves  to  avoid  tea  parties — preaches  at 
the  request  of  the  Earl  of  Rosse — a  dangerous  illness — re- 
sumes his  labours,  and  addresses  large  congregations — ex- 
ercises of  spirit — loyalty — anxious  to  visit  England. 

Mr.  Summerfield,  like  most  other  good  men  who  have 
large  experience  of  the  things  of  God — especially  when 
possessing  temperaments  as  fervent  as  his  own — was  sub- 
ject to  many,  and  often  very  painful,  fluctuations  of  re- 
hgious  feehng.  These  variations  of  the  devotional  tempe- 
rature, so  to  speak,  are  probably  much  less  imcommon 
with  strong  or  susceptible  minds,  than  ordinary  persons  are 
willing  to  suppose  ;  but  few,  very  few  indeed,  have  the 
faculty  to  distinguish  with  that  accuracy,  or  would  have 
the  courage  to  record  their  discoveries  with  that  fidehty, 
which  characterizes  the  precious  autobiographical  sketches 
of  the  heart  of  this  interesting  individual.  Summerfield, 
while  aR  his  laboui  s  might  seem  to  be  wrought  amidst  the 
tempest  of  an  enthusiasm,  at  once  irresistible  to  liimself 
and  his  hearers,  was.  at  the  same  time,  in  his  "  imier  man," 
an  exquisite  spiritual  barometer,  graduated  with  surprising 
delicacy  through  the  entire  scale  of  religious  experienoe. 


m 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


To  those  professors  of  religion,  (if  so  they  may  be  called,) 
who  are  content  to  live  at  the  zero  of  orthodoxy,  his 
language  must  sometimes  appear  strange  indeed  ;  but  to 
others,  who  have  known  sometliing  of  those  "  deep  things 
of  God,"  which  pertain  more  or  less  to  every  true  member 
of  the  body  of  Christ,  these  alternate  elevations  and  de- 
pressions, through  aU  their  degrees,  are  neither  uninteUigi- 
ble  nor  strange.  The  most  exalted  spirit,  while  com- 
passed about  with  the  infirmities  of  the  flesh,  must  never 
expect  to  enjoy  a  perpetually  unclouded  vision ;  much 
less,  an  invariable  beatitude  of  feeling.  A  few  passages 
from  the  Diary  shall  be  given. 

"  June  17.  My  soul  was  still  more  strongly  led  out  after 
God  this  morning  than  of  late — Oh  !  that  I  knew  where  1 
might  find  him.  "  I  view  myself  as  the  most  abandoned  of 
aU  sinners ;  I  am  tempted  to  wish  that  I  was  openly  pro- 
fane, as  being  in  a  more  likely  way  to  obtain  the  salvation 
of  God,  than  in  my  present  state,  I  know  not  what  to  do  ! 
Lord,  pity  me  in  my  low  estate  !  Oh,  make  thyself  known 
imto  me  !"  Here  he  was  beset  with  a  horrible  tempta- 
tion, and  appeared  surrounded  with  the  blackness  of  dark- 
ness itself ;  but,  lo !  the  very  next  day,  the  cloud  is  dis- 
persed:— "I  think,"  says  he,  "I  see  the  dawn  of  eternal 
day  upon  my  soul ;  but  I  anxiously  cry,  oh  !  when  will 
he  fully  appear  ? — However,  by  his  grace,  I  am  determined 
to  persevere."  And  presently  perseverance  had  its  reward — 
in  the  following  passage  "  the  true  Ught  shineth  :" — "  June 
30.   This  has  been  one  of  my  happiest  days ;  I  have  been 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  153 

greatly  blessed  !"  On  a  review  of  the  dealings  of  God 
with  the  soul,  he  thus  strikingly  expresses  liimself  on  the 
16th  of  August : — "  Many  are  the  consolations,  which,  in 
the  last  three  weeks,  I  have  experienced  ;  but  my  expe- 
rience is  still  variable — one  day  on  the  mount,  another  in 
tlie  garden ;  one  day,  hardly  knowing  whether  I  am  in 
the  body  or  out  of  it ;  and  perhaps  the  very  next,  ready  to 
give  up  the  beginning  of  my  confidence,  and  fall  from  the 
grace  of  God  ;  but  I  bless  the  Lord  that  his  grace  is  suffi- 
cient for  me,  and  in  his  strength  1  am  determined  to  follow 
on  to  know  the  Lord  !" 

During  Mr.  Summerfield's  temporary  appointment  in 
Dubhn,  notwitlistandiiig  that  he  preached  nine,  seven, 
and  five  times  a  iceek,  he  was  a  good  deal  engaged  with 
visiting,  as  must  generally  be  the  case  with  a  favourite 
preacher,  especially  in  a  large  city.  This  practice  was  not 
only  opposed  to  the  rules  which  he  had  laid  down  for  the 
government  of  his  time,  but  really  injurious  in  its  tendency. 
"  I  always  feel,"  says  he,  "  that  tea  parties  are  as  so  many 
fungi  to  my  soul."  On  the  commencement,  therefore,  of  a 
fresh  volume  of  his  diary,  he  resolved  "  to  turn  over  a  new 
leaf" — and  accordingly  entered  on  its  first  page  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  : — 

''1.  J^ever  to  go  out  to  breakfast — This  squanders  all 
the  forenoon  away,  which  is  the  most  valuable  part  of  my 
time. 

20 


154 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


"  2 — With  regard  to  dining  abroad;  as  I  pmpose  rising 
at  4  in  the  morning,  and  remaining  in  my  studies,  &c. 
all  day  till  dinner  time,  it  may  not  injure  me  to  relax  m.y 
mind,  but  always  take  care  to  bring  Jesus  with  me,  and 
guard  against  religious  dissipation. 

"  3 — Never  to  breakfast,  dine,  <kc.  abroad  on  Saturday. 

"  4 — Always  to  return  home  after  preaching,  and  never  to 
go  back  to  the  family  with  whom  I  dined,  &c. — This 
does  no  good  ;  keeps  the  family  up,  and  injures  my  own 
health. 

"  5 — Avoid  all  tea  parties,  as  they  are  called,  as  much 

as  possible  :  they  seldom  do  good." 

It  was  his  practice,  wherever  he  visited,  to  seek  the 
spiritual  edification  of  all  present,  and  he  always  considered 
the  time  as  worse  than  lost  when  this  had  not  been  the 
case.  He  several  times  visited,  at  her  special  request,  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Butler,  in  Richmond  place  :  but  even  here,  he 
resolved  to  leave  a  savour  of  his  sacred  character  behind 
him  ;  to  which  end,  he  not  only  recommended  family 
prayer,  but  set  them  an  example,  which  there  was  reason 
to  believe  was  not  in  vain. 

The  following  httle  incident  is  affecting  :  he  was  at  the 
quarterly  meeting  of  the  Stranger's  Friend  Society ; — 
"  While  calling  over  the  names  as  they  lay  in  the  list,  T 


RET.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


155 


was  much  struck,  when  Mr.  Tobias  named  John  Smith 

 a  silence  ensued,  and  brother  Tobias  added, — '  before 

the  throne  of  God ;'  he  died  in  the  last  quarter — Oh,  may 
I  work  while  it  is  called  day."  The  brief  significant 
phrase — "  before  the  throne  of  God,"  comes  like  a  voice 
interpreting  the  silence  that  went  before. 

On  the  15th  of  September  his  engagement  in  Dublin 
was  terminated,  by  the  return  of  Mr.  Mayne  from  Lime- 
rick. He  next  visited  Roscrea,  Birr,  and  Parsontown  ;  on 
his  arrival  at  the  latter  place,  he  foimd  the  family  of  the 
Earl  of  Rosse  had  made  a  request  that  he  would  preach 
at  2  o'clock,  in  the  court-house.  With  fear  and  trembling 
he  complied ;  the  bell-man  was  sent  round  to  announce 
the  service  ;  and  at  the  appointed  time,  he  preached  to  a 
vast  assemblage  of  the  nobility,  gentry,  and  others — many 
of  whom  had  never  before  heard  a  Methodist  sermon. 
At  first  he  was  somewhat  overawed,  but  casting  his  care 
on  the  Lord,  he  felt  liis  usual  liberty,  and  several  of  his 
friends  afterwards  declared,  that  they  never  heard  him 
preach  with  greater  pathos  and  energy.  Although  th(; 
congregation  was  so  large,  and  composed  of  all  ranks  and 
sects,  the  most  profound  attention  prevailed,  and  many 
appeared  much  affected.  He  preached  in  the  evening  at 
the  chapel,  which  was  so  crowded  with  strangers,  that  the 
regular  heaiers,  and  friends,  stood  on  the  outside — all  the 
windows  being  taken  out  that  thqy  might  hear. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  he  again  arrived  at  his  father's 


156 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


house  in  Cork  ;  after  having  been  thoroughly  drenched 
with  a  day  and  night's  rain  on  the  outside  of  the  coach, 
which  had  broken  down  twice  during  the  journey.  He 
was  justly  alarmed  at  the  anticipated  consequences  of  this 
unwonted  exposure  to  the  cold  and  wet,  delicate  as  he  then 
was  ;  he  therefore  willingly  availed  himself  of  the  invita- 
tion of  his  old  friend,  Mr.  Edwards,  to  spend  a  short  time 
at  his  delightful  residence  on  Hop  Island.  He  had,  how- 
ever, only  been  domiciled  in  this  retreat  a  few  days,  when 
the  disorder,  which  had  long  been  growing  upon  him,  in 
consequence  of  excessive  labour  and  fatigue,  (certain  glan- 
dular obstructions,)  came  to  its  crisis.  Symptoms  of  this 
complaint  had  for  some  time  appeared  ;  "  but,"  says  he,  "  I 
knew  not  from  what  they  proceeded  ;  a  curling  in  my 
tongue,  which  was  a  spasmodic  affection,  often  troubled 
me ;  this  I  have  named  in  other  parts  of  my  diary,  calling 
it '  a  thorn  in  my  flesh,'  which  indeed  it  was ;  but  this,  I 
never  mentioned  to  any  one :  all  that  I  remember  was, 
that  my  tongue  doubled  in  my  mouth  ;*  my  mouth  itself, 
and  face,  were  awfully  distorted  toward  my  left  ear,  my 


*  Several  entries  occur  of  a  similar  import  with  the  following : 
— "  an  unaccountable  anxiety  from  a  nerve  in  my  tongue  which 
sometimes  prevents  my  speaking."  This  singular  affection, 
while  it  sometimes  hindered  utterance,  was  often  in  a  singular 
manner  taken  away,  seeming  to  justify  the  scripture  phrase,  "the 
string  of  his  tongue  was  loosed ;"  as  though  there  were  a  bind- 
ing nerve,  that,  by  restriction  or  relaxation,  prevented  or  allowed 
of  speech. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


157 


breath  slopped,  and  reason  forsook  her  throne;  I  was  just 
enabled  to  venture  my  soul  on  Jesus,  and  saw  death  staring 
me  in  the  face ;  I  expected  nothing  else  than  dissolution.' 
On  coming  to  himself,  he  found  his  feet  in  a  crock  of  hot 
w  ater ;  the  room  filled  with  friends,  and  amongst  them  hi-! 
lather,  who  had  been  sent  for  to  see  hun  expire.  He 
had  however  brought  with  him  a  physician,  who  after 
taking  two  and  a  half  pounds  of  blood  from  the  arm  of 
liis  patient,  ordered  his  head  to  be  shaved,  a  blister  to  be 
applied,  and  oilier  medicmes  to  be  used ;  for  soiuetime 
convulsions  succeeded  one  another,  with  alarming  violence, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  following  morning,  that  the 
balance  which  had  seemed  to  weigh  life  and  death  again.-f 
each  other,  perceptibly  preponderated  on  the  side  of  hope : 
his  numbered  days  were  not  yet  come  to  an  end,  and  in  a 
short  time  convalescence  was  apparent.  It  would  be  injus- 
tice to  the  kind  family  which  nursed  Iiim  in  their  house  ht 
Hop  Island,  were  I  not  to  record  his  gratitude  in  his  own 
words  : — "  Sunday,  October  17th,  with  the  permission  of 
my  physician,  I  rose  from  my  bed ;  but  dreadfully  weak 
and  emaciated ;  my  father  and  family,  with  some  kind 
friends,  spent  the  day  with  me.  Throughout  the  whole, 
tlie  attention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards  were  beyond  all 
description,  nor  could  they  be  equalled  by  any  other, 
except  Mrs.  Cole ;  her  love  to  me  was  wonderful — may 
the  Lord  repay  them  a  thousand  fold  !" 

So  great  was  the  anxiety  created  by  the  report  of  his 
indisposition  among  his  Cork  friends,  that  public  prayer 
o 


158 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


meetings  (of  the  inea  and  women  separately)  were  held 
on  his  account :  their  suppUcations  were  heard,  and  the 
lease  of  his  brief  life  was  again  renewed.  For  hiinself, 
he  says  : — "  I  believe  this  affliction  will  have  the  most 
blessed  effect  upon  me  ;  I  see  the  brevity  and  imcertainty 
of  human  life  ;  I  feel  more  set  upon  heaven  and  heavenly 
things ;  my  access  to  the  throne  of  grace  is  with  greater 
boldness,  and  my  soul  is  truly  melted  before  the  Lord. 
Oh,  that  he  would  now  stamp  on  my  softened  heart,  his 
own  most  heavenly  image." 

Many  were  the  letters,  which,  after  this  affliction,  he 
received  from  different  parts  of  Ireland,  praising  God  for 
having  again  raised  up  his  servant :  this  description  may 
serve  to  characterize  generally  the  contents  of  the  whole 
bundle.  A  pti  sage  in  one  of  the  Rev.  W.  Stewart's 
letters  contains  the  following  seasonable  advice  : — "  Preach 
seldom,  that  you  may  preach  often— preach  short,  that  you 
may  preach  long — and  let  comparatively  few  hear  you  now, 
that  many  may  hear  you  hereafter."  Amidst  the  expres- 
sions of  grief  and  sympathy  which  his  illness  called  forth, 
it  is  painful  to  know  that  there  existed  in  some  bosoms, 
emotions  of  a  different  character.  The  "  Clonites,"  who 
regarded  Mr.  Summerfield  as  one  of  the  most  influential 
of  their  opponents,  not  only  several  times  announced  his 
death  ;  but  complacently  attributed  his  affliction  to  a 
judgement  from  God,  because  he  had  been  expected  at 
Waterford,  where  one  of  their  preachers  had  been  hkewise 
announced.    It  was,  however,  a  little  thing  with  him  that 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  159 

he  should  be  thus  judged  of  man's  judgement  :  his  record 
is  now,  witii  himself,  before  the  throne  of  God— and 
even  in  the  pages  of  his  diary,  abundant  testimony  may 
be  drawn,  that  he  did  not  so  judge  concerniiig  his 
enemies. 

On  Sunday,  November  7th,  he  resumed  liis  pulpit  ex- 
ercises. After  preaching  in  the  evenmg,  he  says  : — "  I  felt 
my  soul  borne  above  the  world  !  it  soared  very  high  !  and 
I  sat  with  Jesus  in  heavenly  places."  And  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  following  Sabbath,  he  remarks,  "  for  the  greater 
part  of  this  week,  I  can  say  of  a  truth,  that  my  peace  has 
flowed  as  a  river." 

Although  now  on  the  Conference  list  of  reserve,  and 
therefore  filling  his  several  appointments  as  a  preacher,  he 
still  considered  it  liis  duty  to  assist  his  father,  m  writing  for 
the  concern  of  which  the  latter  had  the  management; 
nevertheless,  wishing  to  be  entirely  devoted  to  the  work  of 
God,  he  considered  book-keeping  "  as  all  lost  time"  to  him ; 

but,"  adds  he,  with  exemplary  propriety,  "  I  remember  at 
ihe  same  time,  that, '  honour  thy  father,'  is  a  command  of 
him  whom  I  wish  to  obey  :"  this  was,  however,  nearly  his 
last  implication  \vith  "counting  house  business." 

Throughout  the  whole  of  December,  and  even  during  the 
following  month,  the  state  of  his  mind  within,  appears  to 
have  resembled  in  some  measure  the  aspect  of  nature 
around  liim ;  sometimes  gloomy  and  lowering, — the  clouds 


160  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

hung  about  his  soul,  and  intercepted  his  comforts,  com- 
pellijig  him  to  exclaim,  "  dark— dark— dark ;"  at  other 
times,  his  mental  atmosphere  was  bright  and  clear,  and 
the  sun  of  righteousness  shone  out  with  full  lustre.  It 
might  appear,  indeed,  sometimes  a  little  difficult  with  un- 
scriptural  readers,  to  reconcile  the  heavenly  manifestations 
of  the  love  of  God  m  Christ  Jesus,  which  he  generally  en- 
joyed, with  some  of  his  dark  and  terrible  conflicts  and  fits 
of  despondency.  As  before  observed,  however,  there  was 
nothing  in  his  state,  (however  singular  to  himself,)  beyond 
what  thousands  have  experienced,  and  must  experience, 
who  look  much  and  closely  at  the  fluctuations  of  feeling,  iii 
hearts  not  made  perfect  in  love.  A  macerated  body,  united 
with  a  spirit  of  extraordinary  intensity,  exposed  him  in  a 
peculiar  manner  to  those  besetments  which  are  not  uncom- 
mon with  men  of  a  similar  temperament.  He  was  often 
very  unnecessarily  distressed  by  dreams,  which,  however 
regarded  by  himself,  were  doubtlessly  the  phantasmagoria 
of  a  fevered  brain.  Another  evident  cause  of  his  painful 
depressions,  was  the  absence  of  spiritual  manifestations — 
not  of  the  nature,  but  in  the  measure,  which  his  soul  desired — 
for  at  this  period,  all  the  feelings  of  lais  mind,  all  the  ac- 
tions of  his  life,  were  not  of  the  nature  of  the  "  old  man," 
which  he  had  long  put  off,  with  his  lusts — but  of  the  "  new 
man,"  which  he  had  put  on,  and  whose  works  were  right- 
eousness'^and  true  holiness. 


On  Sunday,  the  19th  of  December,  Mr.  Summerfield 
preached  on  behalf  of  the  Methodist  Missions,  at  Tralee  ; 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


161 


on  Tuesday,  he  spake  at  great  length  at  the  half  yearly 
meeting  of  the  Bible  Society ;  and  on  the  following  evening, 
at  the  missionary  anniversary.  His  addresses,  on  both 
these  occasions,  were  well  received  ;  and,  judging  from  the 
sketches  extant,  deservedly  so. 

It  may  with  propriety  be  mentioned  here,  that  about 
this  period  he  embraced  several  opportunities  of  enlarging 
his  stock  of  ideas,  by  attending  lectures  on  natural,  intel- 
lectual, and  moral  philosophy. 

On  the  first  Sunday  morning  in  the  year  1820,  he 

preached  in  Cork  to  a  large  assembly  :  "  I  was  peculiarly 

affected,"  says  he,  "  under  the  first  prayer ;  the  Lord  gave 

to  my  eyes  refreshing  tears  !  and  I  could  only  sob  my 

petition  to  His  throne.    He  caused  all  his  goodness  to  pass 

before  me,  and  revealed  to  me  his  name !  I  felt  him 

passing  by !  He  put  his  hand  on  me,  and  then  revealed 

his  glory  ;  he  covered  me  ; — I  was  lost  in  the  ocean  of  his 

goodness."    And  yet  the  very  next  day  he  laments  that 

lie  "  felt  no  gracious  impression,"  at  the  Covenant  meeting. 

How  httle  were  these  vacillations  of  rapture  and  agony  to 

be  taken  as  proofs  that  he  was  in  the  favour  of  God — or 

rather  that  he  was  otherwise  :  indeed,  in  such  a  case,  how 

can  a  person  be  sure  that  these  are  of  God,  and  those  of 

Satan — or  of  his  own  mind,  or  rather  of  his  own  body  ? 

How  wise,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  how  simple,  is  the  test 

of  the  divine  acceptance  laid  do\m  by  Mr.  Wesle}',  in  the 

old  methodistic  syllogism : — "  He  that  now  loves  Gotl, 
o  2  31 


162 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


that  delights  and  rejoices  in  him,  with  a  humble  joy,  a 
holy  deUght,  and  an  obedient  love,  is  a  child  of  God  :  But 
I  thus  love,  delight,  and  rejoice  in  God ;  therefore,  I  am 
a  child  of  God." 

We  may  unhesitatingly  apply  to  Mr.  Summerfield's 
case,  the  above  rule  of  sound  judgement,  which  he  appears 
not  to  have  apphed  to  himself — though  he  could  apply  it 
to  the  case  of  others.  For  instance,  after  saying  of  him- 
self, "  I  am  miserable,  miserable,  miserable  !"  he  goes  on 
to  state  how  he  continued  to  preach,  and  how  God  blessed 
the  word  to  the  experimental  salvation  of  the  souls  of  others, 
while  he  himself  either  had  not,  or  imagined  that  he  had 
not,  such  experience ;  and  if  experience  of  thh  kind  is  to  be 
the  only  test  of  reality,  and  he  had  it  not,  does  it  not  foUow 
that  he  was  under  the  curse  of  God  as  an  unpardoned  sinner, 
and  must  have  gone  from  preaching  to  perdition  had  he 
died  at  the  time  1  Summerfield  was  undoubtedly  in  a  state 
oi  justification  before  God,  and  moreover,  was  evidently  seek- 
ing to  be  sanctified  wholly,  for  there  is  no  middle  state  be- 
tween guilt  and  pardon,  in  which  a  man  may  thus  serve,  and 
fear,  and  love  God,  as  he  appears  reaUy  to  have  done,  and 
have  visitations  even  of  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory, 
as  he  says  that  he  had,  and  as  we  must  beUeve  ;  and  yet 
all  this  time  be  under  condemnation,  and  every  moment 
indanger  of  hell  fire ;— such  hypotheses  were  equally  absurd 
and  unscriptural. 

He  appears  on  the  whole  to  have  sought  his  religious 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  163 

exemplar  in  the  celebrated  Fletcher,  and  to  the  spiritual 
attainments  of  that  eminently  holy  man  his  soul  per- 
petually aspired.  "  Oh  what  a  saint ! — I  would — but 
scarcely  dare,  aspire  to  his  attainments  ;  and  yet,  Jesus 
kindly  whispers  to  my  inward  ear  that  He  has  the  residue 
of  the  Spirit ! — Oh  shed  it  abroad !  come  Lord  from  above !" 
Such  is  Summerfield's  ejaculation  on  reading  the  hfe  of 
his  pious  predecessor :  and  in  allusion  to  whom  he  says, 
in  another  place,  "  I  never  met  with  any  experience  so 
much  a  counterpart  of  my  own :  I  mean  his  experience 
just  at  the  eve  of  his  stepping  into  gospel  liberty — I  took 
courage — I  kneeled  down — I  cried  to  God  ! — He  drew 
near — I  set  the  seal  of  my  faith  to  liis  promises  of  pardon 
through  the  death  of  his  Son  ;  I  now  wait  the  seal  of  his 
spirit  to  be  appUed  to  my  heart — Lord  !  I  must — I  must 
believe,  and  now  I" 

The  31st  of  January,  as  the  reader  is  already  aware, 
was  the  amiiversary  of  Mr.  Summerfields  birth-day ;  on 
a  single  page  under  that  date,  in  the  present  year,  there 
occur  in  the  diary  two  entries  of  so  conflicting  a  character, 
that  they  can  only  be  reconciled  by  the  extreme  probabihty 
that  a  slight  mistake  may  have  occurred  in  dix-iding  the 
matter  under  the  date  ;  even  tliis  supposition,  leaves  diffe- 
rent entries  singularly  contemporaneous.  After  mentioning 
some  conversions  wliich,  the  day  before,  had  taken  place 
under  his  preaching,  he  adds — "  But  what  shall  I  say  of 
myself  1  despair  begins  to  lay  hold  on  me,  and  for  some 
days  I  have  left  off  [private]  prayer. — My  hell  increases  ! — 


164 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


and  yet,  sometimes,  I  have  a  beam  of  hope ;  ia  the  in- 
stances I  have  mentioned  above,  it  seems  as  if  the  Lord 
mingled  encouragement  amid  my  despondencies ;  and  lie. 
seems  unwilling  to  give  me  up — Oh,  that  I  knew  where  I 
might  find  him !"  This  evidently  refers  to  the  30th,  for 
in  the  next  paragraph  he  writes — "  This  is  my  birth-day  ! 
so  twenty-two  years  of  my  race  are  accomplished  ! — I  have 
felt  a  good  deal  of  the  divine  presence  with  me  to  day ;  and  I 
have  solemnly  offered  myself  to  Him  again."  After  de- 
voting hunself  anew  to  God,  he  adds — "  I  feel  enlivened  ; 
this  next  year  of  my  Ufe  will  be  the  auspicious  year,  in 
which  I  shall  be  introduced  into  the  kingdom  of  grace,  or 
of  glory  ; — which  ever  it  may  prove,  '  thy  will  be  done.' 
Amen  !  J.  Summerfield."  Still,  in  the  review  of  his  state, 
he  writes  bitter  things  against  himself  It  may  justly  be 
asked — If  he  was  not  already  in  the  kingdom  of  grace, 
where  was  he  ?  It  would  be  blasphemy  to  say  that  he 
was  in  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  and  imder  the  power  of 
Satan !  What  was  wanting  to  him  ?  evidently  nothing 
but  some  more  sensible  manifestation  that  he  was  in  the 
kingdom  of  grace.  To  multitudes,  undoubtedly,  such 
manifestation  is  given,  and  is  given  according  to  their 
faith ;  but  there  must  be  other  evidences,  or  a  person  may 
awfully  deceive  himself,  as  well  as  harrass  his  spirit  to 
despair,  if  he  has  it  not  in  the  degree  which  he  himself 
expects  and  prescribes,  or  in  which  others  have  it.  It  is 
difficult  to  avoid  yielding  to  a  conviction,  on  the  whole, 
that  much  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  misery  arose  from  bodily 
disease,  some  probably  from  satanic  temptations,  and  more 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


165 


than  either,  and  oveiruluig  both  the  former,  for  his  good 
eventually, — from  the  strivmg  of  God  s  Holy  Spirit  with 
his  spirit,  to  bring  him,  by  a  necessarily  severe  discipline, 
to  an  entire  surrender  of  himself  to  the  Lord — for,  followed, 
and  admired,  and  flattered,  no  doubt  as  he  was, — young, 
inexperienced,  and  sanguine, — there  was  continual  peril  of 
his  being  a  castaway,  after  preaching  to  others,  because 
there  was  continual  temptation  to  preach  himself,  as  well 
as  Clnist  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  to  glory  in  liis  talents  as 
well  as  in  the  cross. 

So  deeply  and  steadily  flowed  the  rivers  of  peace  and 
blessedness  from  the  throne  of  God  into  his  soul,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  February,  that  he  writes,  "  If  all  my  days  were 
spent  in  as  close  a  communion  with  God  as  these  were, 
methinks  the  change  which  death  would  introduce  would 
scarcely  be  felt.  I  find  I  can  trust  my  Father  for  all  tilings  ; 
I  can  cast  my  soul  on  his  promise,  made  through  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  even  though  the  seal  of  the  Spirit  should  seem 
long  delayed ;  I  know  and  sensibly  feel,  that  I  am  not 
worthy  to  be  a  son  of  God ; — and  if  he  see  fit,  for  wise  pur- 
poses, to  retain  me  so  long  in  the  character  of  a  servant, 
His  will  be  done.  I  have  prayed  with  the  prodigal,  'make 
me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants — this  he  has  exceeded  ; 
he  has  made  me  a  domestic.  He  will  then  increase  in  me 
all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will.  He  will  yet  set  me  on 
liiglj,  even  among  the  princes  of  his  people."  Here  a 
blessed  "  truijt  and  confidence"  in  the  faithfulness  of  God, 
takes  place  of  those  "  hard  saying?."  in  which  he  had  so 


166 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


frequently  of  late  indulged  against  himself  Indeed,  it  in 
plain  that  he  was  move  in  his  right  mind, — more  calm, 
collected,  and  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  and  less  impa 
tient — though  not  less  earnestly  longing  for  full  redemp- 
tion ; — and  for  his  satisfactory  assurance  of  which,  nothing 
seems  to  have  been  wanting  but  "  the  seal  of  the  Spirit." 
The  deed  of  his  adoption,  was  no  doubt  ratified  in  heaven  : 
though  the  roll,  such  as  Bunyan's  Pilgrim,  Christian, 
received  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  which  others  have 
received  there,  was  not  yet  given  to  Summerfield. 

No  occasion  has  heretofore  occurred,  requiring  the 
expression  of  any  sentiment  in  connexion  with  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  feehngs  as  a  British  subject;  nor  would  the 
opportunity  of  making  any  allusion  at  all  to  this  matter, 
have  been  regarded  in  these  pages,  but  for  the  occurrence 
of  a  passage  in  the  diary  of  this  devoted  individual,  which 
it  would  be  the  most  manifest  injustice  to  his  memory  to 
omit.  The  writer  of  these  pages  would  indeed  as  certainly 
secure  as  he  would  assuredly  deserve,  the  scorn  of  every 
honest  American,  were  he,  as  an  Englishman,  to  cloak  or 
dissemble  the  fact  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  loyalty  to  his 
sovereign — to  that  sovereign  who  was,  undoubtedly,  in  his 
personal  character,  the  "most  religious  king"  that  ever 
sat  on  the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  George  III.  departed 
this  life  on  the  31st  of  January,  1820.  On  the  15th  of 
February,  the  pious  diarist  writes  : — "  I  cannot  but  remark 
on  the  pohtical  state  of  the  times  in  whicii  I  live ;  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  167 

prospect  for  several  earthl}'  kings  is  very  gloomy,  and 
yet  I  fear  it  will  not  drive  them  to  seek  after  a  kingdom 
in  the  heavens,  or  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away. 
And  so  the  British  throne  hath  changed  its  monarch ! 
George  the  3d  is  counted  among  the  leaves  of  Autumn  ! 
My  heart  even  yet  says  '  God  bless  him  I  trust  to  meet 
him  in  my  Father's  house,  sheltered  from  every  piercing 
wind  of  keen  adversity.  His  son  was  proclaimed  king,  in 
London,  on  my  birth-day. 

The  Duke  of  Kent  has  also  put  off  the  coronet ;  he 
died  a  few  days  before  his  father,  and  was  buried  on  the 
Saturday  preceding  !  When  death  speaks  from  palaces, 
surely  subjects  should  take  the  warning.  And  is  England 
alone  thus  visited  ?  no  :  the  heir  of  the  French  throne 
has  been  assassinated  by  another  Ravaillac  !  Never  did  a 
darker  cloud  impend  over  any  nation,  than  this  and  France 
at  this  moment :  may  I  watch  the  Providence  of  God  ! 
Some  Pella  wiU  be  provided  for  them  that  love  Him. — M3- 
father  urges  me  to  go  to  America;  he  thinks  it  would 
greatly  improve  my  health ;  if  I  thought  it  was  the  will 
of  God,  I  would  not  hesitate  ;  but  I  have  no  light  on  this 
subject." 

The  destruction  which  Summerfield,  as  well  as  some 
other  good  men,  anticipated,  did  not  come  upon  our  Jerusa- 
lem, and  therefore  the  saints  were  not  "  scattered  abroad" 
by  persecution, — though  many  were  "  thrust  out,"  by  a 


168 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


better  spirit,  into  the  wilderness  of  this  world  ;  and  in  the 
sequel,  his  own  way  was  opened  to  that  mighty  field  of 
labour  which  God  had  prepared  for  his  servants  in  the 
new  world :  there  he  was,  in  due  time,  hailed  and  heard 
in  his  "  father  language,"  as  a  messenger  of  good  tidings 
to  those  western  churches,  who  acknowledge  with  their 
brethren  all  over  the  world,  one  spirit — one  faith — one 
baptism. 

From  the  month  of  February  until  toward  the  middle 
of  May,  his  labours  were  divided  between  Cork,  Mallow, 
Cappaquin,  Youghall,  Limerick,  and  Fermoy.  To  his 
exertions,  must  be  mainly  attributed  the  acquisition  of  the 
site  of  the  Chapel  at  the  latter  place  ;  as  the  interviews 
and  arrangements  with  Mr.  Walker,  the  landlord,  devolved 
entirely  upon  Mr.  Summerfield,  who  had  the  satisfaction 
not  merely  to  win  the  esteem  of  the  gentleman  with  whom, 
on  the  part  of  the  Methodists,  he  negotiated,  but  hkewise 
to  see  the  leases  perfected,  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered, 
for  a  charming  plot  of  ground,  fifty  feet  by  forty,  at  a  pep- 
percorn  fine  and  rent — for  ever. 

In  consequence  of  the  intensely  painful  exercises  of  his 
mind,  he  now  anxiously  longed  to  visit  tlie  land  of  his 
nativity,  "  not  to  preach,  but  to  be  instructed  in  the  way  of 
salvation."  "  I  am  (says  he)  Uke  Aquila ;  1  want  to  kno^ 
the  way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly." — "  I  long,"  says  he,^ 
in  another  place,  "  to  be  in  England,  where,  unknown. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD  169 

may,  without  reserve,  communicate  my  almost  indescriba- 
ble state  to  some  one  to  whom  my  gracious  Lord  may 
direct !  Oh,  may  he  open  my  way  if  it  please  Him  !"  This 
prayer  was  heard  and  answered. 

22 


170 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTION  X. 

Arrives  in  England,  and  preaches  at  Bristol — Exeter — attends 
Conference  at  Liverpool — entertains  thoughts  of  going  to 
America — embarks  for  JVeic-  York. 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1820,  Mr.  Summerfield  bade  adieu 
to  Ireland,  and  expected  presently  to  set  his  foot  on  the 
English  shore ;  the  vessel,  however,  in  which  he  sailed, 
and  which  was  bound  for  Bristol,  being  detained  by  ad- 
verse winds  at  Markstown,  he  embraced  the  opportunity  of 
once  more  visiting  Cork,  and  hearing  Mr.  Wood  preach. 
On  the  15th,  he  re-embarked  at  Cross-Haven,  to  which 
place  he  was  accompanied  by  Iris  father,  who  "  loaded  him 
with  blessings  :" — "Such  a  father — he  is  only  surpassed 
by  another,  and  that  is  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !" 

This  detention  in  the  Channel,  afforded  him  leisure  to 
reflect  upon  the  time  he  had  passed  in  Ireland,  and  the 
objects  of  his  visit  to  England.  In  the  preceding  eighteen 
months,  he  had  not  only  preached  four  hundred  sermons,  but 
had  been  blessed  with  good  ministerial  success  ;  and  he 
and  his  congregations  had  often  experienced  times  of  re- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


in 


freshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  In  reference  to 
the  unhappy  division  to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  he 
observes  : — "  The  Methodist  Society  in  Ireland  was  rent 
in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  and,  forced  out,  as  I 
was  in  these  times,  it  was  my  object  to  assist  in  sewing  up 
the  rents  which  had  been  made.  To  the  glory  of  God  I 
would  record  it,  that  I  believe  my  labour  was  not  altogether 
in  vain  in  the  Lord."  With  sincere  pleasure,  may  be 
added  to  this  record,  the  following  testimony  of  a  reverend 
gentleman,  who  had  many  opportunities  of  judging  on  the 
subject : — "  He  preached  practical  Christianity,  in  most 
lively  colours ;  and  his  '  sweet  persuasive  tongue'  so  re- 
commended 'brotherly  kindness  and  charity,'  entreating 
his  brethren,  even  weeping,  to  '  fall  not  out  by  the  way,' 
that  all  appeared  to  be  carried  away  by  his  eloquence  to 
spiritual  union,  and  heavenly  peace  ;  and  he  was  made  a 
general  blessing,  at  that  time  of  strife  and  division  in  the 
church." 

Mr.  Summerfield's  popularity  was  too  great,  not  to 
create  envy  in  Uttle  minds.  Upon  the  latter  clause  of  the 
subjoined  review  we  must  drop  a  tear,  but  there  exists  no 
valid  reason  for  suppressing  it : — "  In  the  various  circuits 
I  have  travelled,  I  have  met  with  many  trials  ;  many  of 
the  preachers  received  me  gladly ;  I  believe  I  was  beloved 
by  those  whose  love  I  most  higlij^  prize ;  and  in  this  page, 
and  in  this  number,  I  would  recdrd  names  ever  dear  to 
me — Tobias,  Wood,  Steele,  W.  Stewart,  A.  Hamilton, 
sen'r,  T.  W.  Doolittle,  H.  Dury,  S.  Harpur,  E.  Cobain,  F. 


172 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Russell,  P.  Rogers,  J.  Matthews,  6cc.  Others  I  found 
among  my  brother  preachers,  who  received  me  with — not 
coolness  or  reserve,  (this  I  care  nothing  about,)  but  marked 
dislike.  They  would  rather,  I  do  really  believe,  that  I 
were  cut  off,  than  preserved  among  them. — I  know  them — 
God  knows  them  ; — I  love  them  truly,  and  would  be  glad 
to  be  their  lowUest  servant  in  any  capacity." 

On  the  16th,  the  wind  w  as  favourable  ;  the  vessel  stood 
out  fairly  for  her  destination,  and  as  the  green  hills  of  the 
land  of  his  spuitual  nativity  receded  from  his  sight,  the 
anxious  voyager  ejaculated  in  broken  accents  of  affection — 
"Farewell !  my  sweetest  friends  !  Farewell !  Ireland,  thou 
concealest  all  that  I  love  dear  on  earth  ! — yet  I  give  you  all 
up  ; — the  cross  ! — but  then  the  crown  ! — T  leave  a  land  of 
friends — I  fly  to  a  land  of  strangers  ! — Cease,  fond  nature — 
cease  thy  strife  ! — It  is  for  Jesus  !  Farewell !  Adieu  !"  On 
the  19th,  he  landed  at  Bristol. 

It  may  here  be  repeated,  that  the  object  of  his  voyage 
to  England  was  threefold.— 1.  To  attend  to  some  business 
for  his  father  ;  2.  The  prospect  of  benefitting  his  constitu- 
tion ;  and,  3.  A  resolution  to  converse  unreservedly  with 
some  one  on  his  spiritual  state ;  and,  therefore,  to  remain 
for  sometime  unknown  to  the  brethren.  Providence  had 
otherwise  ordered  concerning  him. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  at  Bristol,  as  he  was  passing 
along  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city,  in  the  loose  blue  coat 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


173 


which  he  had  worn  aboard,  and  his  head  so  reeUng  from 
the  motion  of  the  vessel,  that  he  had  occasionally  to  cling 
to  the  palisades,  to  prevent  liimself  from  falling  on  the 
pavement ;  he  saw  a  number  of  children  playmg  at  mar- 
bles ;  of  these  he  inquired  the  way  to  the  Methodist 
Chapel.  Thither  he  repaired,  and  found  that  "  a  stranger  " 
was  expected  to  preach  that  evening.  Having  taken  his 
seat  in  a  pew,  he  sat,  "  unknowing  and  unknown,"  with 
the  rest  of  the  congregation.  When  they  had  waited 
nearly  half  an  hour  beyond  the  time  appomted,  and  no 
preacher  making  his  appearance,  nor  any  person  attempt- 
ing even  to  give  out  a  hymn,  the  people  meantime  begin- 
ning to  go  away,  it  was  strongly  impressed  upon  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  mind,  that  he  must  himself  be  "the  stranger," 
thus  providentially  appointed.  After  reasoning  a  short 
time  with  flesh  and  blood,  he  at  length  broke  the  snare, 
and  inwardly  rephed  to  what  he  considered  a  call  from 
God — '-Lord,  here  am  I — not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done  !" 
He  then  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  under  a  sweet  sense  of 
the  divine  presence,  gave  out  the  hymn,  begiiming,  "  God 
moves  in  a  mysterious  way."  He  felt  a  Uttle  trepidation 
at  first,  but  in  a  few  minutes  tliis  text  came  to  his  mind — 
"  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee  :  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am 
thy  God  !  I  \vi\\  strengthen  thee  ;  yea,  I  will  help  thee  : 
yea,  I  will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my 
righteousness."  He  preached  with  his  usual  freedom  and 
unction  ;  and  thus  singularly  commenced  his  ministry  in 
England. 


174 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


A  few  words  will  explain  the  circumstance  which  thus 
opened  Mr.  Summerfield's  way  to  a  British  pulpit,  so  con- 
trary to  his  expectation  and  even  to  his  wishes  : — the 
District  Meeting,  which  had  that  week  been  held  in  Bris- 
tol, had  terminated  only  the  day  before,  and  this,  m  con- 
nexion with  the  anniversary  of  the  local  Methodist  Mis- 
sionary Society,  had  brought  a  considerable  number  of 
preachers  to  the  spot ;  publication  had  therefore  been  made 
for  "  a  stranger"  on  the  evening  in  question  ;  but  no  name 
was  mentioned,  as  it  was  hardly  to  be  doubted,  but  that 
when  from  forty  to  fifty  preachers  were  present  in  the  city, 
some  stranger  might  reasonably  be  expected.  No  other 
stranger,  however,  nor  any  other  preacher,  could  be  found. 
— though  many  of  the  friends  actually  went  from  the 
chapel  to  seek  one. 

Having,  in  consequence  of  the  above  incident,  and  con- 
trary to  his  intentions  for  the  present,  been  induced  to  show 
the  letters  of  introduction  with  which  he  had  been  furnished 
by  Mr.  Wood,  at  Cork,  he  was  received  with  much  affection 
by  many  of  the  English  brethren  then  in  Bristol.  While 
in  that  city,  he  was  kindly  entertained  by  John  Hall,  and 
Edward  Jones,  Esqrs.  Mr.  Hall  carried  him  m  a  chaise 
f  o  Bath,  where  he  met  with,  and  was  affectionately  recei- 
ved by,  that  truly  apostohc  man,  (now  in  glory !)  the 
Rev.  AValter  Griffiths. 

On  the  22d,  he  set  off  to  Exeter  on  the  business  witii 
which  his  father  had  charged  him  in  Eiigland  :  this  nego- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


175 


tiation..  however,  tenninated  inauspiciously.  So,  says  he, 
"  my  dear  father  is  again  disappointed  :  he  thought  that 
the  providence  of  God  was  removing  hmi  to  England, — 
but  all  is  closed  !  I  wrote  to  him  the  day  following,  to  com- 
municate the  unpleasant  result  ;  and  endeavoured  to 
encourage  liim  to  trust  in  the  Lord.  Indeed,  my  dear 
father  has  no  continuing  city  here.  God,  in  his  mercy, 
removes  him  from  place  to  place,  and  shows  liim  that  this 
is  not  his  home ;  but  he  has  given  him  a  title  through 
grace  to  a  kingdom  !  a  kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved" 

His  visit  to  Exeter  at  this  juncture,  was,  however,  inter- 
esting to  himself  as  a  Methodist  preacher:  the  District 
Meeting  was  assembled,  and  the  anniversary  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  District  was  held  ;  and  as  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield  was  just  come  from  Ireland,  he  was  not  only 
allowed,  but  required,  to  take  a  prominent  part.  Some  of 
the  preachers  were  very  shy  on  this  occasion  ;  and  one  of 
them  had  even  the  indiscretion  to  say  to  his  colleagues,  "  be 
cautious  how  you  mix  with  the  Irish  brethren !"  This 
conduct  deterring  the  resident  preachers,  he  was  not 
invited  to  occupy  their  pulpits  ;  until  at  the  kind  soUcitation 
of  Mr.  Kilpin,  the  Baptist  minister,  he  had  preached  for 
him  in  his  Meeting  house.  He  was  then,  on  the  follo\ving 
Sunday,  asked  to  preach  in  Exeter, — not  however  by  the 
superuitendent,  but  by  Mr.  Overton,  the  junior  preacher. 
He  had  promised  to  be  in  Bristol  that  day,  but  lest  his 
motives  in  leaving  a  place  where  he  had  not  been  well 
treated,  might  be  misconstrued,  he  apologized  toliis  Bristol 


176 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


friends,  and  preached  on  the  Sabbath  at  Exeter  with  great 
power  and  acceptance. 

Sunday,  June  3d,  he  preached  agahi  at  Bristol — Mr, 
Roberts  reading  the  church  service  before  sermon ;  this 
was  quite  new  to  him,  as  was  also  the  appearance  of  the 
chapel,  being,  as  it  is,  adorned  with  marble  monuments 
affixed  to  various  parts  of  the  interior.  On  the  following 
Sunday,  he  preached  twice  in  St.  Philip's  chapel,  and 
between  these  services  assisted  Mr.  Waddy  to  administer 
the  sacrament.  This  also  was  new  to  him — it  was  more- 
over the  first  time  that  he  had  communicated  in  a  Metho- 
dist chapel :  so,  after  preaching  in  King-street  chapel,  Bath, 
he  observes : — "  As  I  am  always  meeting  with  something 
new  m  England,  I  may  observe,  that  this  was  the  first  chapel 
in  which  I  had  met  with  an  organ  ;  the  hjrmns  were  played 
on  it  in  a  dehghtful  manner,  and  produced  good  effect." 
While  in  Bristol,  he  had  a  pleasant  interview  with  Mr. 
Thomas  Exiey,  the  ingenious  mathematician  ;  he  hkewise 
saw  several  Moravian  friends,  and  amongst  them  two  of  his 
Fairfield  preceptors, — Rev.  Messrs.  Ramftler  and  Mallaheu. 

Having,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  England,  written  to  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Thomson,  his  old  friend,  companion,  and 
fellow-labourer,  then  stationed  at  Framlingham,  in  Suffolk, 
he  received  a  letter  in  return,  from  which  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  make  the  following  extract : — "  Your  dear  father, 
(whom,  as  long  as  recollection  endures,  and  a  spark  of 
gratitude  exists  in  my  heart,  I  shall  love  and  respect,)  has 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


177 


now  got,  what  from  your  childhood  he  most  anxiously 
desired,  and  what  /  know  he  has  prayed  for,  hundreds  of 
times.  Yes,  my  dear  Jolm,  your  dear  father  knows  what 
it  is  to  wrestle  with  God,  and  he  knows  what  it  is  to  prevail. 
I  have  for  the  last  eleven  years,  in  which  I  have  been  an 
itinerant  preacher,  seen  numbers  of  men  who  possessed 
deep  piety, — but  one  who  had  greater  influence  with  hea- 
ven— more  power  with  God,  than  your  father,  I  have  not 
seen." 

It  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Summerfield  kept  any  jour- 
nal of  his  feelings,  or  his  proceedings,  from  the  period  of 
his  lea\dng  England  for  Ireland* — nor,  in  fact,  until  his 
arrival  in  America :  indeed,  the  very  latest  entry  in  the 
foregoing  coimtry,  occurs  under  June  28  ;  when  reviewing 
God's  dealings  with  him,  he  remarks,  "  and  here,  I  have 
been  abundantly  blessed ;   my  heart  nas  been  sweetly 

*  Mr.  Summerfield  returned  from  England  to  Cork,  in  August, 
1820,  little  improved  in  health.  His  time  was  variously  employed 
as  before,  viz.  in  writing  for  the  establishment  of  which  his  father 
was  manager,  and  occupying  the  pulpits  in  the  different  chapels 
in  Cork  and  its  vicinity  ;  until  the  19th  of  October,  when  he 
was  again  most  alarmingly  attacked  with  the  same  disorder 
which  brought  him  to  the  verge  of  the  grave  at  Hop  Island — 
the  very  same  day  of  the  previous  year.  In  a  few  weeks,  he 
was  so  far  convalescent  that  his  pliysicians  advised  a  sea  voyage; 
which  was  promptly  acceded  to  by  his  father,  who  had  long 
contemplated  the  removal  of  the  family  to  America. 

J.  BlacJcstock. 

23 


178 


MEMOIKS  OF  THE 


drawn  out  after  the  fulness  of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ ;  and  I  believe  I  can  say,  I  feel  more  truly  alive 
to  God,  and  have  nearer  access  to  him,  than  for  some 
time  past."  He  adds — "  of  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Hall's 
family  (of  Bristol)  I  cannot  speak  in  any  just  terms — God 
bless  them  !" 

While  at  the  Conference  held  in  Liverpool,  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Jolm  Emory,  the  representative 
of  the  American  Conference.  Tiie  interviews  which  Mr. 
Summerfield  enjoyed  with  so  respectable  and  influential  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  in  America,  though  they 
did  not  originate,  may  reasonably  enough  be  supposed  to 
have  thrown  an  halo  of  new  interest  around  that  project 
of  emigration,  which  providence  seems  at  tliis  period  to 
have  forced  upon  the  attention  and  choice  of  his  father 
and  the  family.  How  long — and  on  what  accounts  chiefly, 
thoughts  of  America  had  occupied  the  minds  of  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield and  his  father,  may  be  gathered  from  the  follow- 
ing extracts  of  letters,  written,  as  their  dates  will  show,  in 
1819,  and  addressed  by  him  to  his  eldest  sister  and  her 
husband — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blackstock,  of  New- York,  in 
which  city,  as  aheady  stated,  they  had  for  some  time 
resided : — 

"  Temporal  affairs  have  not  answered  our  expectations  : 
I  believe  it  was  not  the  will  of  heaven,  that  1  should  be 
buried  in  a  secular  calling ;  I  was  given  to  the  Lord  from 
my  mother's  womb,  and  because  I  refused  the  surrendering 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


179 


of  myself  to  the  ministry  exclusively,  I  have  been  scourged 
beyond  measure  ;  but  I  at  last  came  in,  and  I  never  mean 
to  quit  the  temple  service  of  the  God  whose  name  is  Holy." 
****((  Imve  long  talked  of  removing  to  America ; 
if  my  father  should  not  make  up  his  mind  to  settle  in 
Cork,  in  July  next,  he  will  certainly  conclude  to  go  without 
further  delay ;  and  with  regard  to  the  rest  of  us,  we  can 
have  no  objections,  notwithstanding  the  dangers  of  the 
passage,  when  we  have  such  attractions  already  on  that 
side  the  water."  April  19th,  1819.  He  thought  right, 
however,  to  modify  the  plirase, — "  we  can  have  no  objec- 
tions," by  adding — "  Perhaps  I  spoke  hastily  ;  with  regard 
to  myself,  perhaps  my  best  friends  would  not  consent  that 
I  should  remain  in  America  ;  but  at  all  events,  they  could 
not  deny  me  the  indulgence  of  the  heartfelt  pleasure  of 
.«eeing  you." 

At  the  conclusion  of  a  long  letter  to  liis  sister,  descriptive 
of  his  religious  experience,  he  says — "  I  often  tell  my 
friends  in  this  country  of  my  desire  of  going  to  America  ; 
they  will  not  hsten  to  it  for  a  moment.  I  do  indeed  desire 
it,  if  it  were  the  Lord's  will,  but  not  otherwise — I  long  to 
see  you,  that  I  may  be  filled  with  your  company  ; — if  it 
is  his  will,  he  will  open  the  way."    April  19tb,  1819. 

America  appeared  to  be  his  providential  destination. 
All  things  were  duly  arranged  for  the  voyage  ;  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield,  his  revered  father,  his  elder  brother  William,  and 
his  two  sisters  Amelia  and  Anne,  sailed  from  Cork,  on  the 


180 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


12th  of  December,  1820,  in  the  ship  General  Lingan, 
bound  to  New- York.  The  vessel  being  only  ballasted, 
after  a  not  unpleasant  saU.  of  fifteen  days,  touched  at  St. 
Ubes,  a  Portuguese  harbour,  about  fifteen  miles  south  of 
Lisbon,  to  take  in  a  cargo  of  salt.  After  staying  at  this 
place  some  weeks,  and  receiving  every  civility  from  the 
resident  British  and  American  consuls,  they  again  set  sail. 
The  captain  of  the  vessel  was  a  most  gentlemanly  officer, 
and  did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  make  the  passengers 
comfortable :  added  to  this,  the  young  ladies  had  their 
piano  in  the  cabin,  so  that  the  time  passed  very  agreeably 
on  shipboard  ;  the  more  so,  as  the  breezes  of  the  Atlantic 
appeared  to  have  a  favourable  effect  upon  Mr.  Summer- 
field's  health.  On  the  17th  of  March,  1821,  they  landed 
safely  at  New- York. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


181 


SECTIOX  XI. 

Methodism  in  America — Summerfield  arrives  at  Jfew-York 
— eloquent  speech— stationed  at  J^ew-York — speech — un- 
precedented popidarity — addresses  children — letters — news- 
paper notices — immense  audiences  at  Washington — preaches 
in  front  of  the  Capitol — affection  of  his  friends — affecting 
sermon. 

Methodism,  wliich  as  most  persons  are  aware,  had  its 
rise  with  the  preaching  of  the  celebrated  and  Rev.  John 
Weslej'^,  in  England,  about  the  year  1730,  flourishes  in 
America  to  a  greater  extent  even  than  in  Europe.  Its 
introduction  to  the  United  States,  is  traceable  to  PhUip  Em- 
bury, a  local  preacher  from  Ireland,  who  in  the  year  1766, 
began  to  preach  in  the  city  of  New- York  ;  where,  in  a 
very  few  months,  he  united  with  himself  in  church 
fellowship  a  number  of  his  own  countr)T;nen,  as  well  as 
citizens, — and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  society. 

In  the  same  year,  Thomas  Webb,  a  gentleman  holding 
a  captain's  commission  in  the  British  service,  and  who  had 
a  mihtary  station  in  the  city  of  Albany,  visited  New- York, 
and  several  other  places,  attracting  large  crowds,  who 
Q 


182 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


wondered  much  to  see  the  pulpit  occupied  by  a  man  in 
the  uniform  of  a  soldier.  Almost  simultaneous  with  these 
operations,  was  tlie  arrival  of  Robert  Strawbridge,  another 
Irish  local  preacher,  who  settled  at  a  place  called  Pipe- 
Creek,  in  Maryland,  where  he  began  to  preach,  formed  a 
(Society,  and  built  a  log  chapel.  In  the  course  of  three 
years,  the  people  had  so  increased,  and  the  prospects  of 
the  society  were  so  encouraging,  that  in  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  the  Society  in  New-York,  Mr.  Wesley  sent 
Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor,  who  were  the  first  regular 
preachers  appointed  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  this  country. 
Meanwhile,  the  first  Methodist  chapel  was  built  in  New- 
York,  and  things  went  on  so  prosperously,  that  at  the  latter 
end  of  the  year  1771,  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  and  Rev. 
Richard  Wright,  joined  the  brethren  above  named. 

There  was  at  this  period  a  general  deficiency  of  vital  re- 
ligion in  the  Church  of  England  in  America,  as  well  as 
in  the  mother  country,  the  people  being  in  many  places 
even  destitute  of  the  Christian  sacraments,  as  several  of  the 
clergy  had  forsaken  their  churches.  In  this  lamentable 
state  of  affairs,  the  preachers  and  memuersof  the  Methodist 
Society  in  America,  requested  Mr.  Wesley  to  take,  in  their 
behalf,  such  m.easures,  in  his  wisdom  and  prudence,  as 
would  afford  them  suitable  relief  in  their  distress. 

In  consequence  of  this  representation,  that  venerable 
man,  who,  under  God,  had  been  the  father  of  the  great 
revival  of  religion  now  extending  over  the  eeirth,  by  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMEKFIELD. 


183 


means  of  the  Methodists,  deteiniined  to  ordain  ministers 
for  America.  Accorduigly,  on  the  estabhshment  of  peace 
in  1784,  Mr.  Wesley  sent  over  three  regidarly  ordained 
clergymen — Dr.  Tiiomas  Coke,  Ricliard  Whatcoat,  and 
Thonias  Vasey,  vesting  them  with  eccletiiasiical  powers  to 
constitute  the  American  Methodists  an  independent  Episco- 
pal Church.  Having  fixed  upon  this  n)ode  of  Church 
government,  he  solemnly  set  apart,  by  the  imposition  of 
his  liands,  and  prayer,  "  one  of  tliem,  viz.  Thomas  Coke, 
Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  late  of  Jesus  (,'ollege,  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  and  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England, 
for  the  Episcopal  Office  ;  and  liaving  delivered  to  him  let- 
ters of  Episcopal  orders,  commissioned  and  directed  him 
to  set  apart  Francis  Asbury,  tiien  general  assistant  of  the 
Methodist  Society  in  America,  for  the  same  Episcopal 
office  ;  he,  the  said  Francis  Ashury,  being  first  ordained 
deacon  and  elder.  In  consequence  of  which,  tlie  said 
Francis  Asbury  was  solemnly  set  apart  for  the  said  Epis- 
copal office,  by  prayer,  and  tbe  imposition  of  the  lianciri  of 
the  said  Thomas  Coke,  other  regularly  ordained  niinisters 
assisting  in  the  sacred  ceremony.  At  wliich  time,  the 
general  Conference  held  at  Baltimore  did  unanimous-ly  re- 
ceive the  said  Tiiomas  Coke,  and  Francis  Asbury,  as  their 
Bishops,  beuig  fully  satisfied  of  the  vahdity  of  their  Epis- 
copal ordination." 

Thus  originated  the  Metliodist  Episcopal  Cliurch  in 
America,  into  the  bosom  of  which,  not  merely  as  a  servant, 
but  "  as  a  brother  beloved  in  the  Lord,"  Mr.  Summerfield 


184 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


was  now  to  be  received,  and  under  whose  authority  and 
direction,  we  are  henceforward  to  behold  liim  spending  and 
being  spent. 

Presently  after  his  arrival  at  New- York,  in  March,  1.821, 
he  connnenced  his  ministerial  labours,  though  he  was  in  a 
vej  y  indifferent  state  of  health. 

The  Fifth  Anniversary  of  the  American  Bible  Society 
was  held  at  the  City  Hotel,  in  the  city  of  New- York,  on 
the  10th  of  May.  The  chair  was  fiUed  by  the  President, 
the  honourable  and  venerable  Ehas  Boudinot,  LL.  D. 
ihen  in  the  eighty-second  year  pf  his  age.  At  tliis 
meeting,  Mr.  Su)mnertield  made  a  speech  which  produced 
a  wonderful  effect,  and  added  much  to  that  popular  estima- 
tion in  which  he  had  been  rising  ever  since  he  preached 
his  first  sermon.  The  following  passage  may  be  quoted 
from  the  report  of  the  Society  : — "  In  seconding  the  motion 
of  thanks  to  the  venerable  President,  I  am  assured  of  the 
consentaneous  feeUng  of  every  heart  around  me.  When  I 
beheld  him  enter  the  room,  I  felt  a  thrill  strike  through  ni}' 
soul,  but  which  I  cannot  describe ;  I  beheve  it  was  the 
generous  throb  of  every  individual  here  present,  at  the 
sight  of  Boudinot  ; — it  was  sympathetic,  and  every  heart 
vibrated  in  perfect  unison  with  my  own.  My  imagination 
involuntarily  recognized  in  him  a  resemblance  to  pious 
Jacob ;  and  '  finding  the  time  draw  near  when  he  must 
die,'  I  fancied  that  he  had  said  in  his  heart,  '  Gather  your- 
selves together  that  I  may  bless  you  before  I  die  !'  And 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMEKFIELD.  185 

when  one  told  Jacob,  and  said,  '  Behold  thy  sons  come 
unto  thee,  Israel  strengthened  himself,  and  sat  upon  the 
bed,'  and  said,  *  Hear  ye  sons  of  Jacob,  and  hearken  unto 
Israel  your  father.'  Instead  of  urging  upon  you  any  tiling 
us  a  motive  to  your  imanimously  seconding  the  motion,  I 
leave  it  to  yourselves,  and  the  best  feelings  of  your  hearts  ; 
nor  am  I  at  all  apprehensive  for  the  result.  At  the  same 
tiine,  you  will  present  your  thanks  to  Almighty  God  for 
having  raised  up  such  a  father  to  your  society,  for  having 
put  it  into  his  heart  to  '  come  to  the  help  of  the  LiOid 
against  the  mighty,'  and  as  the  beet  w-ay  of  expressing 
your  gratitude  to  this  servant  of  the  Lord,  remembejr  him 
j^incerely  at  tlie  throne  of  grace,  and  pray  that  whenever  it 
*hall  please  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  God  of  the  Bible, 
to  remove  him  hence,  his  last  hours  may  be  peace  !  pray 
that  God  would  speak  to  his  heart  the  word  which  once 
cheered  the  fainting  mind  of  Israel  of  old — '  Fear  not  to  go 
down  into  Egypt ;  I  will  go  down  with  thee  into  Egj-pt, 
and  I  will  also  surely  bring  thee  up  again ;'  and  that 
borne  up  under  this  assurance,  he  may  be  able  to  say  to 
liis  surviving  friends,  with  a  heavenly  smile,  *  whither  I  go 
ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know.' " 

He  attended  the  Conference  held  at  Troy,  in  the  State 
of  New- York,  in  the  month  of  June,  and  was  atlmitted 
into  the  connexion,  upon  what  he  justly  regarded  as  libe- 
ral terms  ;  for  having  left  Ireland  somewhat  suddenly,  he 
had  net  with  him  a  single  letter  of  reconnnendation  fronr 
that  country.  This  dilTiculty — as  it  might  have  proved — 
Q  2  21 


186 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


was  obviated  by  a  letter  which  he  received  from  tlie  Rev. 
.Tolin  (now  Dr.)  Emory,  who  thus  in  the  most  friendly  and 
affectionate  manner,  interfered  in  Mr.  Summerfield's  behalf, 
from  a  knowledge  of  his  standing  in  Britain.  Being  thus 
received,  he  was  stationed  in  the  city  of  New- York ;  the 
term  of  probation  required  being  calculated  from  the 
period  of  his  joining  the  connexion  in  Ireland,  which  left 
one  year  only  for  trial,  previous  to  his  admission  to  the 
office  of  a  deacon. 

After  his  return  from  the  Troy  Conference,  he  thus 
writes  in  his  diary  : — "  Having  been  appointed  for  New- 
York  city,  I  have  sought  to  ratify  the  same  at  the  Throne  of 
Grace  ;  I  feel  as  if  God  would  be  with  me  (his  year  ;  He 
has  given  me  good  earnest  of  it,  and  I  enter  upon  my 
arduous  duties,  relying  upon  his  strong  arm  alone."  After  a 
few  days,  he  adds—"  I  find  that  my  ensuing  year's  labours 
will  be  double  my  expectations" — "  I  feel  as  if  this  year 
would  terminate  my  mortal  existence  !  my  body  is  perfect 
weakness  !  my  soul  sympathizes  too  often  with  my  body, 
and  wants  that  lively  vigour  and  energy  I  so  much  need — 
but  Ifeel  that  Jesus  will  do  all  things  well." 

On  Sunday,  June  10,  he  preached  the  anniversary  ser- 
mon of  the  Marine  Church  m  New- York,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing Wednesday,  delivered  an  address  in  Dr.  Romeyn's 
Church,  on  the  first  report  of  the  institution.  Few  readers, 
probably,  at  this  time,  either  in  Europe  or  America,  re- 
fjnire  to  be  told  that  public  attention  to  the  spiritual  de?ti- 


186 


was  obvia 
John  {now 
affectionat 
I'l  om  a  kn 
received,  1 
term  of 
period  of 
one  year 
office  of  a 

After  I 
writes  in 
York  citA 
Grace  ;  ] 
has  give 
arduous 
few  days 
wall  be 
would  te 
weaknes 
and  wan 
but  I/c£ 

On  S 
mon  of 
lowing 
Church 
probabl 
quire  t( 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD, 


187 


tutioii  of  sailors,  was  first  attracted  by  a  singularly  gifted 
individual,  residing  as  a  Baptist  minister  at  Cornwall,  in 
England.*  A  brief  outline  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  speech 
at  the  first  anniversary  of  the  Bethel  Union,  is  preserved,  a 
few  passages  from  which  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  the 
reader  in  tliis  place.  Having  noticed  the  indiflference  which 
the  Christian  world  had  so  long  manifested  towards  sailors, 
He  recollected  that  this  neglect  had  been  from  time  ini- 


*  Amongst  the  memorials  of  men  raised  up  in  this  age  of  re- 
hgious  institutions,  and  which  have  occupied  the  public  attention 
of  our  contemporaries,  posterity  will  not  willingly  allow  either 
detraction  or  demerit  to  erase  from  the  scroll  of  Christian  wor- 
thies, the  name  of  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Smith,  of  Penzance.  I  am  not, 
of  course,  unaware,  that  to  speak  thus  of  the  gentleman  in  ques- 
tion, will  be  regarded  by  some  persons  in  England  as  a  species 
of  charitable  heterodoxy.  To  the  labours  of  this  indefatigable 
and  interesting  man,  whom  no  dangers  could  daunt,  and  no  ob- 
loquy confoimd,  and  who  having  been  in  the  service  himself,  has 
been  long  and  justly  known  as  the  "  seamen's  friend,"  in  the  best 
sense  of  that  phrase  ;  it  is  due,  at  least,  to  acknowledge  that  his 
iQtrepid  Christian  spirit,  and  unwearied  personal  exertions  in 
London  and  elsewhere,  led  to  the  establishment,  though  they 
might  not  absolutely  give  birth,  to  all  the  institutions  now  existing 
for  the  promotion  of  religious  information  among  sailors.  With 
the  subordinate  details  of  his  personal  history,  (the  grounds  of 
so  much  misrepresentation,)  however  erratic,  I  have  nothing  at 
all  to  do ;  but  I  gladly  embrace  this  opportunity  of  leaving  an 
honest  and  gratuitous  testimony  to  the  extent  and  importance  of 
his  public  labours. 


188 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


memorial ;  and  that  the  opinions  of  the  wise  and  learned 
sages  of  antiquity  (although  in  many  of  them  but  learned 
ignorance)  had  tended  to  perpetuate  this  practice  still  more 
and  more.  Plato  had  declared  tliat  the  sea  was  the  school 
of  vice  ;  and  of  course,  seamen  were  regarded  as  scholars 
of  wickedness  themselves,  and  teachers  of  it  to  others. 
But  this  was  not  the  lowest  opinion  formed  of  them  by 
tlie  ancients.  When  Anacharsis  was  asked  whether  he 
supposed  that  the  number  of  the  dead  exceeded  the  num- 
ber of  the  hving,  he  replied,  '  first  inform  me  in  which  of 
these  classes  seamen  are  to  be  placed  ?'  implying,  that 
though  they  had  'a  name  to  live,'  they  were  considered 
virtually  dead,  and  of  course,  not  worthy  of  any  labour 
which  would  tend  to  meliorate  their  condition. 

"  The  opinions  of  our  christian  ancestors  were  not  much 
more  exalted  on  this  subject.  He  was  reminded  by  a  pre- 
ceding speaker,  who  had  alluded  to  the  great  and  good 
John  Flavel,  of  the  sentiment  of  the  good  puritan  with 
reference  to  seamen  in  his  day.  The  same,  said  he,  may 
be  applied  to  them,  which  was  said  of  an  ungodly  minis- 
ter, then  living, — whose  pulpit  discourses  were  so  superioi^ 
to  his  daily  practice,  that  it  were  a  pity  he  should  ever 
leave  the  pulpit,  for,  when  mounted  there,  he  was  as  near 
to  heaven  as  ever  he  would  be  ;  so,  sa)^s  the  honest  divine, 
may  it  be  said  of  seamen ;  when  tossed  upon  the  waves, 
Uhey  mount  up  to  heaven,'  as  the  Psalmist  expresses  it, 
lhat  it  were  a  pity  they  should  ever  descend  again  ;  foi- 
it  was  as  near  as  ever  they  would  be.' 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


189 


'•'  Mr.  S.  observed,  he  could  not  recollect  that  any  fa- 
vourable notice  had  been  taken  of  seamen  by  the  christian 
world,  except  that  they  were  included  in  the  prayers  of 
the  church  of  England  by  the  petition  for  '  all  who  travel 
by  land  or  by  water  :'  But  alas,  in  this  case  sailors  might 
in  some  sort  apply  the  reasoning  which  had  been  used 
with  reference  to  the  Cathohc  priest,  who  would  willingly 
give  the  poor  man  his  blessing,  but  not  a  sixpence  of  his 
money :  which  led  the  supphant  to  remark  to  the  ecclesi- 
astic, that  as  it  was  evident  he  w-ould  not  bestow  it,  if  it 
cost  him  but  sixpence,  so  he  would  dispense  with  it !  Until 
the  present  day,  seamen  might  retort  upon  the  cliristian 
world  m  similar  language.  We  have  prayed,  but  have 
not  laboured  for  their  welfare  ;  we  have  talked  a  good  deal, 
but  have  done  nothing,  until  the  formation  of  the  Bethel 
Union  Society.  But  now  the  stigma  is  removed ;  and, 
said  Mr.  S.,  although  I  must  turn  my  eyes  from  the  chaii' 
to  express  it,  lest  a  forbidden  look  should  chill  the  declara- 
tion I  am  proud  to  make  :  there  are  not  wanting  christians, 
who  give  more  than  their  prayers  on  every  sabbath  day  ; 
who  give  theii-  wealth,  their  time,  their  every  thing,  in  this 
labour  of  love  ;  and  who  would  not  count  their  owti  lives 
too  dear  to  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  Him, '  whose  they  are, 
and  wliom  they  serve.'  *  *  *  * 

"  The  disregard  which  seamen  are  thought  to  manifest 
for  the  sabbath,  and  every  rehgious  obser\-ance,  is  generally 
owing  to  a  similar  cause, — the  disrespect  which  their  cap- 
tain's manifest  to  these  things.    The  couplet,  which  sea- 


190  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

men  have  learnt,  as  expressive  of  tlie  Egyptian  rigour  of 
their  task-masters,  is  in  a  great  measure  true : — 

'  Six  days  thou  shall  work  and  do  all  thou  art  able  ; 
On  the  seventh,  thou  shall  scour  the  decks,  and  then  wash 
the  cable.' 

"  But  let  the  captains  and  owners  of  ships  shew  a  vene- 
ration for  the  Lord's  day,  and  .seamen  will  respect  it  more. 
It  was  therefore  with  pleasure  that  Mr.  S.  seconded  a  re- 
solution of  thanks  to  tliose  captains  and  owners  who  had 
dared  to  be  singular,  and  whose  example  he  trusted  would 
be  followed  by  many  others." 

His  popularity  now  became  unprecedentedly  great ;  peo- 
ple of  all  denominations  crowded  to  hear  him  :  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  for  multitudes  to  surround  the  church, 
where  he  was  expected,  awaiting  the  opening  of  the  doors, 
so  that  before  the  time  of  service,  hundreds  have  had  to 
return  disappointed,  being  unable  to  gain  admittance. 
And  repeatedly  these  crowds  have  been  so  dense,  that  he 
had  to  get  to  the  pulpit  through  the  windows.  Weak  as 
he  was,  it  was  his  practice  to  preach  on  an  average  three 
times  a  week  ;  besides  delivering  addresses  on  various 
occasions. 

It  had  ever  been  his  delight  (an  uncommon  merit  witli 
men  so  eminently  gifted)  to  address  juvenile  auditories  ;  he 
now  made  it  a  point  to  preach  once  a  month  to  the  chil- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  191 

tlren,  taking  up,  at  the  same  time,  a  collection  for  the  Mis- 
sionary Society.  In  these  addresses,  the  children  were 
delighted  by  his  inetiiod  of  instruction  :  the  simplicity  and 
familiarity  of  his  manner  soon  won  the  attention  of  his 
youthful  hearers  ;  and  then  did  he  impress  upon  their 
susceptible  minds  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  illustrating  his 
remarks  by  the  most  striking  metaphors,  and  by  interesting 
and  appropriate  anecdotes.  On  these  occasions  he  never 
forgot  the  parents  ;  for,  as  he  used  to  say,  he  liked  to 
preach  to  the  children,  because  it  afforded  him  an  oppor- 
tunity of  speaking  through  them,  plainly  and  affectionately, 
to  their  parents. 

The  subjoined  copy  of  a  letter,  addressed  by  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield  to  a  pious  lady,  whose  name  it  is  not  material  to 
mention,  may  close,  with  much  propriety  the  notices  of 
the  present  year  : — 

"mw-York,  28th  Oct.  1821. 

Mr  DEAR  Sister, 

For  such,  I  trust,  you  will  allow  me  to  call  you ; — I 
can  assure  you  it  is  with  feelings  of  no  ordinary  kind  that 
I  now  sit  dowTi  to  address  you ;  but  I  feel  as  if  I  needed 
no  introduction — you  will  meet  me  with  the  salutation,  'how 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  publish  glad  tidings  of 
good  things.' — Believe  me,  the  day  has  not  often  gone  by, 
in  which  I  have  not  thought  of  you,  and  prayed  that  the 
God  of  all  grace  would  cause  you  to  abound  in  every  good 
and  perfect  work  ;  that  he  would  perfect  in  you  that  which 


192 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


is  lacking,  and  cause  you  to  be  steadfast,  unmoveable, 
always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  ***** 
Startle  not  at  difficulties ;  I  have  in  general  marked,  that 
when  they  have  crossed  our  rehgious  path,  at  our  setting 
out,  we  have  become  more  confirmed  thenceforward  in  our 
professions ;  winds  and  storms  have  always  the  eflfect  of 
causing  the  tree  to  strike  deeper  root,  and  adhere  more 
firmly  to  that  into  which  it  has  been  planted  :  and  again, 
those  trees  whose  roots  strike  deepest,  are  more  upright  in 
the  tendency  of  their  growth,  and  out-top  the  ti  ees  of  the 
forest.  Oh,  that  this  may  indeed  become  the  case  witli 
you  ;  that  you  may  sink  deeper  into  the  love  of  God,  and 
rise  higher  in  the  attainment  and  enjoyment  of  holiness  of 
heart,  the  mind  which  was  in  Jesus — straight  and  upright, 
always  tending  heavenward,  and  attracted  thither  con- 
tinually by  the  influence  of  the  sun  of  righteousness.  I 
trust,  my  dear  sister  has  learned  the  happy  art  of  fleeing  to 
the  strong  for  strength — that  she  has  often  opened  the 
treasury  of  heaven  by  the  key  of  prayer  ;  and  by  the  hand 
of  faith  received  out  of  his  fulness,  grace  upon  grace. 
J^ever  forget  that  '  man  shall  be  blest,  as  much  as  man 
permits' — that  the  invitation  is,  '  Come,  for  all  things  are 
now  ready  :  ask  what  you  will,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ; 
and  whatsoever  you  ask  the  Father  in  my  name,  it  shall  be 
done  for  you  ;' — but  mark — ask  in  faith,  nothing  doubting  ; 
remember,  the  condition  remains  ever  this,  '  if  thou  canst 
believe,  thou  shalt  see  the  salvation  of  God' — whatsoever 
ye  aisk  in  prayer,  believing  that  ye  receive  them,  ye  shall  have 
them  ;  for  '  all  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believetli.' 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


193 


Seek,  however,  the  present  behef  for  a  present  blessing  ; 
though  it  is  promised  that  you  '  shall  see  the  salvation  of 
God,'  yet,  it  is  if  thou  canst  now  believe.  Oh,  then  cry 
out,  '  Lord,  I  do  believe' — I  do  mw  believe  ;  help  thou  mine 
unbelief.  BeUeve  that  God  has  given  you  eternal  life,  and 
that  life  is  in  his  son  : 

•  See  all  your  sins  on  Jesus  laid — 
The  Lamb  of  God  was  slain ;' 

"  And  then, 

'  Believe,  and  all  your  sins  forgiven, 
Only  believe,  and  your's  is  heaven.' — 

"  ]\Iay  God  open  to  you  the  mystery  of  faith ;  give  you 
eyes  to  sec  that  he  has  given  you  every  thing  in  the  gift  oj 
Jesus — pardon,  and  hohness,  and  heaven  ;  believe  that  they 
are  your's,  and  your's  through  the  right  of  Jesus,  and  your*s 
mw  ;  and  you  will  soon  receive  the  seal  of  his  spirit,  as 
the  witness  of  your  adoption  into  the  family  of  his  dear  son. 
Write  me  fully  and  freely,  and  T  will  from  time  to  time 
communicate  such  advice  as  the  Lord  shall  enable  me. 
Meantime,  with  many  assurances  of  Christian  brothcrh' 
affection,  beheve  me  your  sincere  well-wisher, 

J.  Sl'mmerfield." 

The  year  1S22  is  one  of  great  importance  in  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  ministerial  life,  and  the  bundle  of  document?? 
relating  thereto,  is  rich  and  interesting— and,  I  am  sorry  to 
add — melancholy  memorials  ;  as,  however,  his  journn) 
R  25 


194  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

(with  an  exception  hereafter  noticed,)  was  intermitted  for  at 
least  twenty  months,  I  shall  introduce  ample  extracts  from 
his  correspondence. 

In  a  letter  to  his  father,  dated  New-York,  January  12, 
1822,  he  says  : — "  We  are  doing  well  here  in  our  Church 
concerns  ;  the  I^ord  has  graciously  poured  out  his  spirii  on 
the  late  festival  occasions,  and  numbers  have  been  con- 
verted to  him.  I  preached  on  the  watch  night  in  John- 
street,  and  the  word  was  indeed  accompanied  with  power  ; 
it  was  the  best  season  of  the  kind  ever  remembered  in  this 
city  ; — but  particularly  on  last  Sabbath  the  Lord  visited  his 
people.  I  preached  in  the  evening  in  John-street,  and 
after  preaching,  I  renewed  the  Covenant,  as  we  do  in 
Europe.  It  was  altogether  new  here.  It  .was  accompanied 
with  a  great  blessing,  and  between  twenty  and  thirty  souls 
have  been  added  to  the  Lord  in  consequence — besides, 
there  is  a  great  deepening  of  rehgion  in  the  hearts  of  our 
people,  and  we  have  peace  and  love  in  all  our  borders." 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  Blackstock, 
dated  Baltimore,  March  5th,  1822  : 

'•  On  Friday  morning  I  left  Philadelphia  at  6  o'clock,  and 
travelled  without  any  intermission,  except  about  two  hours, 
till  near  six  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening,  when  I  arrived 
in  Baltimore,  jaded  indeed.  The  road  was  good,  except 
about  fifty  miles  of  it,  which  was  indeed  intolerable. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


195 


However.  I  am  in  good  health,  thank  God,  and  quite  re- 
ciiiited. 

'•My  reception  here  has  been  highly  grateful  to  niy 
feehngs  as  a  Methodist.  The  attention  shown  me  by  all 
ranks,  is  more  than  I  can  well  bear ;  but  the  Lord  supports 
Ine.  Indeed,  1  feel  iu  a  very  unpleasant  situation,  in  a 
certain  degree  ;  when  I  came  to  New- York,  I  was  un- 
known, and  whatever  favour,  therefore,  the  Lord  gave 
me  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  was  more  than  was  calculated 
upon  ; — but  here,  fame  has  preceded  me,  and  blown  a  very 
loud  trumpet  indeed ;  many  expect  from  me,  I  almost 
think,  something  more  than  human,  and  as  all  such  must 
inevitably  be  disappointed,  I  stand  upon  vcr}^  unequal 
ground  from  my  situation  in  New- York — there,  they  ex- 
pected notliing ;  here,  they  expect  every  thing. 

I  preached  on  Sabbath  monung  in  Light-street  Church, 
to  a  great  multitude,  aUhough  my  fatigues  from  travelling 
were  great. 

"  On  Friday  morning,  I  intend  to  set  oCC  to  Washing- 
ton, in  Mr.  Foxall's  carriage  ;  he  is  here  with  me,  and  is 
indeed  a  kind  father  to  me.  I  shall  be  absent  from  here 
the  two  foUowmg  Sabbaths,  visiting  Washington,  George- 
town, and  Alexandria,  and  return  on  the  Thursday  fol- 
lowing :  the  next  day  I  have  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the 
Bible  Society  liere,  and  in  a  few  days  after,  that  of  the 


196 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


sabbath  schools — as  soon  as  possible  afterwards,  I  go  on 
to  AnnapoHs,  to  brotlier  Emory. 

"  You  need  not  be  apprehensive  concerning  me,  for  I 
assure  you  I  have  found  a  father  in  brother  Rozsell :  he  is 
the  presiding  elder  in  this  district,  and  will  not  permit  me 
to  preach  oftener  than  three  times  a  week  ;  so  that  I  can 
shelter  myself  imder  his  authority,  and  avoid  all  extra 
sohcitations. 

"  I  am  at  present  at  brother  Ilarden's  ; — he  is  mdeed  a 
kind  man,  and  receives  me  with  an  Irish  welcome.^' 

To  those  who  heard  this  devout  and  eloquent  "  messen- 
ger of  the  churches,"  preach  during  the  progress  alluded 
to  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs,  no  description  can  be 
necessary  to  recall  him  in  their  hearts  and  memories. 
Others,  however,  who  had  not  that  privilege,  will  be  gratified 
to  have  their  conceptions  aided  by  the  following  passages, 
extracted  from  long  newspaper  notices,  published  at  the 
time  and  on  the  spot. 

"  It  has  often  been  asked  by  those  who  have  not  enjoyed 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Summerfield,  in  what  the 
peculiar  character  of  his  preaching  consisted  ? 

"  The  youth,  and  apparent  debility  of  the  speaker ;  the 
deferent  and  solemn  maimer  in  which  he  perfonned  the 
initiatory  offices  of  divine  worship  ;  and,  above  all,  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


197 


t  haste  and  fervent  simplicity  of  his  petition  to  the  Eternal, 
.<\\  ept  aside  all  prejudice,  and  opened  every  heart  and  ever}- 
eyc  to  the  truth  and  '  beauty  of  holiness.' 

His  sermon  was,  beyond  comparison,  superior  to  any 
thmg  the  writer  ever  heard,  although  he  has  enjoyed  op- 
portimities  of  hearing,  Avith  no  careless  ear,  many  faithful 
and  able  ministers  of  the  word.  Tt  was  not  of  that 
declamatory  kind  which  is  calcidated  to  excite  the  feehngs 
of  a  promiscuous  assembly  ;  nor  of  that  subtle  and  meta- 
j)hysical  texture  which  involves  the  most  vigorous  intellects, 
and  perplexes  the  plainest  tmth.  It  was,  on  the  contrary, 
a  happy  imion  of  argimient  and  entreaty :  seeking  to  con- 
vince, and  'persxiade  men'  of  propositions  distinctly  stated, 
cogently  enforced,  and  happily  illustrated  by  natural  and 
felicitous  imagery.  It  was  the  outpouring  of  a  fuU  heart, 
seeking  to  disbiu-tben  itself  of  the  awful  responsibihty  of 
its  station,  and  to  give  vent  to  the  '  glad  tidings'  of  the 
gospel,  as  the  spuit  gave  it  utterance,"  6cc.  &c. 

Ponlsoii's  American  Daily  Mvertiser. 

Speaking  of  his  services  in  Light-street  church,  the  cor- 
respondent of  another  local  paper,  among  other  remark.s, 
says — "  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  mention  the  text  he  took  to 
expound,  or  the  manner  in  which  he  applied  the  words  of  it 
in  elucidating  his  discourse  ;  it  is  sufficient  to  sa)^,  that  the 
forcible,  energetic,  and  masterly  manner,  in  which  he 
addressed  the  congregation — the  chastity  and  harmony  of 
his  language— the  beauty  and  elegance  of  his  whole  dis- 
R  2 


198 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


course — the  deep  knowledge  he  displayed  of  theology,  not 
only  reflected  honour  upon  his  head,  but  evinced,  in  an 

eminent  degree,  the  purity  and  goodness  of  his  heart  as  a 
christian  and  minister  of  the  gospel.  Nature  has,  indeed, 
bestowed  upon  him  the  noblest  faculty  than  can  be  given 
to  man,  combining  in  itself  all  the  force  of  reason,  the 
cogency  of  argument,  and  the  propriety  of  dehvery — for 
such  is  eloquente,"  &c.  &c. 

Under  the  head  of  "  the  modern  Whitfield,"  the  "  Dela- 
ware Watchman^'  gives  a  long  letter  from  a  correspondent 
at  Pliiladelphia.  "  The  discourses  of  this  wonderful  man," 
says  the  writer,  "  are  not  formed  upon  the  model  of  orators, 
ancient  or  modern.  They  are  not  made  up  according  to 
the  prescriptions  of  rhetoricians  of  great  or  lesser  name ; 
they  owe  nothing  to  the  magnificence  of  words,  or  the 
studied  graces  of  manner — but  they  are  deeply  imbued 
with  the  living  spirit  of  thought,  and  are  dependent  for 
their  influence  alone  upon  the  omnipotence  of  truth,  and 
the  irresistible  energy  of  genius.  His  gestures  are  with- 
out affectation — few,  but  fearless,  and  appropriate.  His 
words  spring  free  and  spontaneous  from  his  thoughts,  and 
these  gush  on  with  one  continued  flow  from  the  deep  and 
unfailing  fountain  of  a  spirit  whose  source  is  in  nature  and 
God,"  &c.  &c. 

However  gratifying  it  might  be  to  go  on  vdth  these 
transcriptions,  which  might  be  extended  through  several 
pages,  from  other  papers,  the  foregoing  may  be  sufficient 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


199 


as  specimens  of  the  whole — at  least  in  this  place  :  it  may- 
suffice,  therefore,  to  add  the  following,  from  a  Philadelphia 
print : — "  Mr.  Summerfield,  a  clergyman  from  England, 
of  the  Methodist  persuasion,  has  lately  delivered  several 
sermons  in  this  city,  which  have  been  attended  by  most 
unexampled  congregations,  of  all  denominations  of  chris- 
tians. He  is  truly  powerful  both  in  argument  and 
eloquence.  He  is  an  able  and  strenuous  advocate  of  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  His  last  discourse,  previous  to 
leaving  om-  city,  was  delivered  yesterday  morning,  in  Dr. 
Wilson's  church,  Washington  square,  in  the  presence  of 
most  of  the  clergj',  and  a  concourse  of  at  least  four  thou- 
sand persons."  Like  a  true  evangehst,  he  embraced  this 
signal  opportunity  of  expounding  to  his  hearers  one  of  the 
most  vital  topics  of  revelation  : — "  Seeing  then  that  we 
have  a  great  High  Priest,  that  is  passed  into  the  heavens. 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast  our  profession," 
Heb.  iv.  14. 

Wliile  this  tumult  of  popular  feeling  was  excited  by, 
and  around  him,  how  seasonable  was  the  following 
monitory  clause  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Summerfield  at  Balti- 
more, by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Joshua  (now  Bishop)  Soule  : 
— "  Amidst  the  mighty  crowd,  I  trust  your  single  eye  is 
fixed  on  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith.  All 
your  honours,  all  your  trophies,  you  will  hang  upon  the  cross, 
knowing  nothing  but  '  Him  crucified.^ — Watch  thou  in  all 
things,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make  full  proof  of 
thy  ministry — holding  the  faith  of  which  some  have  made 


200 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


shipwreck.  Let  others  attempt  to  edipse  the  glory  of 
Emanuel,  God  with  us,  and  limit  the  perfections  and  being  of 
the  divine  Aoyos;  but  ours  be  the  pleasing  task  to  preach 
'  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to  day,  and  for  ever.'  " 

His  further  progress  will  be  best  described  in  his  own 
words.  Writing  to  Mr.  Blackstock,  from  Georgetown, 
under  date  of  the  13th  of  March,  he  says  : — "  I  left  Balti- 
more on  Friday  in  Mr.  Foxall's  carriage,  Mrs.  F.  accom- 
pan)ring  us ;  the  distance  between  Baltimore  and  Washing- 
ton is  but  thuty-six  nules,  yet  we  made  it  a  two  days  jour- 
ney ;  so  that  you  ma.y  infer  there  was  not  much  fatigue 
attending  it.  On  Sunday  morning,  I  preached  in  the 
Foundry  chapel  in  Washington,  to  an  overflowing  congre- 
gation, notice  having  been  uiserted  m  the  newspapers. 
Although  it  was  the  sabbath  of  Mr.  Ryland's  appointment 
in  ordinary  to  preach  before  the  Congress  ;  yet,  in  conse- 
(luence  of  his  having  engaged  a  gentleman  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  early  in  the  week,  to  supply  his  place  there 
on  that  sabbath,  before  he  knew  of  my  coming  down,  I 
had  not  tliat  opportunity.  However,  there  were  about  fifty 
senators,  and  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
present,  filhng  round  about  the  altar  inside,  and  in  the 
pulpit ;  and  among  the  rest,  John  Q,uincy  Adams,  secretary 
of  state,  (since  President  of  the  United  States,)  Callioun, 
secretary  of  war,  and  others.  As  you  may  suppose,  I 
directed  my  attention  to  subvert  the  principles  of  Unitari- 
anism,  which  liave  unhappily  found  their  way  into  Con- 
gress, through  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Sparks.  I  had  unusual 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


201 


Kberty  and  boldness,  with  great  freedom  of  speech ;  the 
Lord  stood  by  me,  and  I  shunned  not  to  declare  all  the 
council  of  God — with  what  etlect,  1  know  not ;  I  leave 
that  unto  the  Lord.  *  *  *  *  Yesterday,  for  the  first  time, 
I  visited  the  Congress  ;  I  received  many  marks  of  distin- 
guished attention  from  members  of  both  houses ;  their 
kindness  was  very  great,  and  of  course,  very  grateful  to 
my  feelings  as  a  stranger.  I  am  requested  to  preach  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  next  Sunday  ;  it  is  a 
most  spacious  hall,  and  will  contain  far  more  than  the 
members  of  both  chambers." 

The  '■Metropolitan  and  Georgetown ^ationalMessenger,*^ 
thus  describes  the  preacher  as  he  appeared  in  Dr.  Baltch's 
(the  Presbyterian)  church  : — "Mr.  Summerfield  is  a  young 
gentleman  of  no  ordinary  capacity,  and  his  oratorical 
powers  render  him  an  object  of  deep  and  hvely  interest. 
When  he  becomes  animated,  he  appears  as  if  the  very 
breaihings  of  the  Spirit  were  on  him ;  and  his  countenance 
is  lighted  up  with  a  fire,  bright  and  holy,  like  that  which 
appeared  to  Moses  on  Mount  Horeb.  His  action  and 
enunciation  are  chaste — his  voice  is  rather  weak,  but  is  quite 
melodious,  and  its  intonations  inconceivably  fine — his  face 
wears  the  aspect  of  a  youth  not  out  of  his  teens,  but  is 
modest  and  unassuming.  We  think  Mr.  S.  is  every  way 
calculated  to  do  good  in  the  vineyard  of  his  divine  Master." 

To  suppose  that  Summerfield  was  himself  insensible 
amidst  all  this  excitement,  would  be  absurd :  he  must  have 
26 


202 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


been  more  or  less  than  a  man  to  have  experienced  no 
pecuhar  emotions  under  sucli  circumstances  ;  it  is  enough 
to  assert,  that  his  native  modest  and  christian  humility 
remained  unchanged.  How  properly  he  estunated  the 
flatteries  of  the  press,  (honest  and  valuable  as  they  un- 
doubtedly were,)  may  be  inlerred  from  a  pleasant  passage  in 
the  letter  about  to  be  quoted.  Addressing  Mr.  Blackstock, 
and  of  course,  with  Imn,  all  the  members  of  the  family  in 
New- York,  he  writes  : — 

"Annapolis,  Mm-yland,  March  25th,  1822. 
"  My  dear  James, 

"  I  promised  to  write  to  you  to  day,  and  agreeably 
thereto,  I  sit  down  for  the  purpose.  My^last  was  from 
Georgetown,  which  place  I  left  on  Wednesday  last.  I 
suppose  I  need  not  inform  you  of  any  particulars  concern- 
ing my  stay  in  that  place,  and  Wasliington,  as  you  have 
probably  seen  my  movements  in  the  newspapers  of  this 
part  of  the  country.  Newspaper  editors  have  not  much 
to  do  at  present,  and  therefore  any  novelty  affords  them  a 
subject  for  scribbling ;  however,  they  are  all  favourable, 
extremely  so  ;  in  opposition  to  my  JSTewark  friend,  one 
extols  my  gesture,  as  being  truly  chaste  and  correct : 
another  speaks  of  my  voice,  as  perfect  harmony ;  and 
another  says,  that  its  intonations  are  inconceivabl)^  fine  ! ! 
Dear  me  ! — what  will  they  say  next  ?  I  wish  I  was  out 
of  the  way  of  all  this  fussbuss,  and  returned  to  New- York. 
I  only  mention  these  things,  because  I  knoAV  they  will  onl\- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


203 


produce  in  you,  the  same  effect  they  do  in  me,  exciting  a 
pleasant  smile. 

On  last  Sabbath  I  intended  to  have  preached  in  the 
Capitol  at  Washington,  but  when  I  went,  the  crowd  was 
so  immense,  that  I  took  my  stand  on  the  lofty  steps  in 
front  of  the  House,  and  preached  in  the  open  aii'.  I  can- 
not tell  you  how  many  were  assembled  on  foot,  but  the 
sight  was  very  imposing,  being  flanked  in  by  several  lines 
of  carriages  filled  with  company,  who  retained  their  seats, 
and  listened  with  great  attention,  so  that  I  infer  that  I  was 
heard  to  the  extremity.  The  wind  was  somewhat  in  my 
face,  and  rendered  the  exertion  greater,  and  I  contracted 
some  hoarseness  consequently  ;  but  am  now  pretty  well. 

"  On  Monday  I  rode  to  Alexandria,  eight  miles  from 
Washington  ;  I  had  intended  to  proceed  to  Mount  Vernon, 
the  sepulchre  of  Washington's  remains,  but  having  to 
preach  that  evening,  I  decUned."' 

The  text  upon  which  he  discoursed,  from  the  platform 
at  the  eastern  front  of  the  Capitol,  was,  We  preach  Christ 
crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stumbUng  block,  and  to  the  Greeks 
foolishness.-' — "If  we  are  to  form  an  opinion  of  his  merits,"' 
says  the  Washington  City  Gazette,  "  by  his  popularity  as  a 
preacher,  the  eagerness  to  hear  him  has  scarcely  been 
equalled  since  the  days  of  his  pious  predecessor,  George 
Whitfield."  Summerfield,  however,  was  not  well  calcu- 
lated to  address  out  of  door-multitudes  ;  in  voice,  he  pos- 


204 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


sessed  neither  the  stentorian  depth  of  the  apostle  of 
Georgia,  nor  the  sonorous  compass  of  the  founder  of 
Methodism. 

He  now  turned  his  feet  homeward ;  having  experienced, 
during  his  visit  to  the  places  above  enumerated,  unpa- 
ralleled tokens  of  affection ;  indeed,  he  observ^es  in  a  note 
to  his  friends,  that  he  found  the  kindness  of  the  good  people 
of  Baltimore  "  increase  to  so  painful  a  degree,  that  I  longed 
to  tear  myself  away ;"  and  so  many  presents  did  he  re- 
ceive of  various  kinds,  that  he  had  to  get  an  extra  trunk 
to  contain  them.  In  the  month  of  April,  he  aixived  in 
New- York,  from  which  place,  on  the  25th,  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Samuel  Harden,  of  Baltimore.*  The  followang  is  an  extract 
of  the  letter,  which  is  one  of  a  series  of  seventeen,  addressed 
by  Mr.  Sumnierfield  to  this  gentleman  : — "  Oh  that  my 
gracious  Lord  would  cause  all  the  plenitude  of  his  grace 
to  abound  within  your  soul ;  it  is  yours  ;  it  has  been  pur- 
chased, claim  it  through  the  right  of  Jesus ;  and  take  all 
the  fulness  of  that  which  heaven  waits  to  pour  into  the 
heart  of  him  who  asks,  believing  that  he  has  the  very 
petitions  which  he  asks  tliiough  the  name  of  the  advocate 
with  the  Father.    I  will  endeavour  to  multiply  wm-ds  at 


*  A  more  devoted  friend  than  Mr.  S.  Harden  was  to  my  dear 
brother-in-law,  I  have  not  known.  He  is  an  extensive  merchant 
in  Baltimore,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  in  that  cil}-, 
and  a  man  of  great  influence  in  the  Society. 

J.  Bladstod: 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


205 


the  tluone  of  grace  iii  your  behalf,  that  you  may  enjoy  all 

the  fulness  of  the  blood-bought  salvation.    Tell  R  

she  must  take  care  that  Martha  does  not  turn  Mary  out 
of  the  house  altogether  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  while  she 
is  so  busily  employed  in  the  Missionary  cause,  for  the 
benefit  of  otlms,  she  must  not  neglect  the  one  thing  which 
is  so  essential  for  herself.'^ 

The  exalted  opinion  which  the  public  entertained  of  Mr. 
Summerfield's  eloquence,  at  this  tune,  was  not  only  abun- 
dantly confirmed,  but  exceedingly  heightened;  by  a  Sermon, 
wliich  he  preached  on  the  7th  of  May,  in  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  Nassau-street,  in  behalf  of  the  Aew-Forfc 
Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  The 
text  upon  which  the  discourse  was  founded,  was  Luke  vi. 
36.  '•  Be  ye  therefore  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  mer- 
ciful and  the  following  were  the  concluding  sentences — 
although  the  very  words  of  the  preacher,  those  only  who 
heard  them  in  that  great  congregation,  can  conceive  of  the 
fervour  with  which  they  were  uttered  : — "  But  I  transfer 
these  children  now  to  you.  Behold  them  !* — they  now 
stand  before  you,  as  you  must  stand  before  the  judgement 
peat  of  Christ !  Dare  you  on  tliis  occasion  say, 


*  The  preacher  dropped  his  handkerchief  on  the  platform., 
and  the  objects  of  the  charity  stood  up  in  the  presence  of  the 
congregation.   The  effect  was  electrical. 


206 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


'  The  mercy  I  to  others  shew, 
'  That  mercy  shew  to  me  :' 

Do  you  realize  that  day  ?  You  must  stand  stripped  of  everj- 
earthly  treastu'e — naked  before  God  !  While  you  plead  for 
mercy,  cast  all  earthly  treasure  from  you  now : — these 
now  plead  with  you,  as  you  will  plead  with  God : — hear 
them  !  I  do  not  mock  you  ! — Silence  hke  their's  is 
eloquence.  The  hand  of  God  has  smitten  them,  but  the 
stroke  which  blasted,  consecrated  them  !  Heaven  has  cast 
them  on  you  : — if  you  withhold,  'tis  sacrilege  !  Will  a  man 
rob  God  ?  Are  you  still  passing-  by  on  the  other  side  ?  Still 
griping,  with  a  miser's  fist,  the  pelf  of  earth  1 — Father  of 
Mercies  !  palsy  not  that  hand  ! — wither  not  that  eye  which 
can  gaze  on  these  objects,  and  not  feel  affected !  On  ?)ie 
be  the  wrong  !  I  have  failed  to  affect  them — these  children 
have  failed.  Thou  canst  move  them ; — Oh,  descend  as 
with  cloven  tongues  of  fire !  and  find  thou  an  entrance 
into  every  heart ! — But— I  can  no  more  !"  The  sermon 
being  concluded,  the  collection  was  taken  up,  which 
amounted  to  something  over  one  thousand  dollars,  a  gold 
necklace,  and  several  rings  !  This  Sermon,  the  only  one 
ever  published  by  Mr.  Summerfield,  was  printed  at  the 
request  of  the  Directors,  and  two  editions  sold  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Institution.  It  may  be  added,  that  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1822,  a  law  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New- 
York  was  passed,  entitled,  "  .3n  act  to  provide  for  tlie  Mi- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD,  207 

gent  Deaf  and  Dumb  within  this  State ;"  thus  transferring 
the  maintenance  of  these  uistitulions  for  the  destitute 
from  the  charity  of  individuals  to  the  resources  of  govern 
menu 


208 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTIOX  XII. 

Ordained  Deacon — violent  illness — dictates  a  testamentary 
paper — recovers  slowly — public  anxiety — letters — Episcopal 
certificate  to  travel — visits  JSTew-Jersey — created  Master  of 
Arts — letter. 

In  the  month  of  June,  the  Conference  of  that  section  of 
the  American  Methodist  Society  to  which  Mr.  Summer- 
field  belonged,  was  held  in  the  city  of  New- York.  He 
.ittended  the  sittings  daily,  though  evidently  labouring  at 
the  same  time  mider  indisposition.  Having  fulfilled  his 
probation,  he  was  now,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
church,  ordained  Deacon.  The  following  is  the  Cer- 
tificate :— 

"  Know  all  men  bf  these  presents,  That  I,  Wil- 
liam M'Kendree,  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  America,  under  the  protection  of  Almighty 
God,  and  with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  by  the  imposition 
of  my  hands  and  prayer,  have  this  day  set  apart  John 
SuMMERFiELD,  for  the  office  of  a  Deacon  in  the  said 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ;  a  man  whom  I  judge  to  be 
well  qualified  for  that  work  :  and  I  do  hereby  recommend 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


209 


liiin  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  as  a  proper  person  to  ad- 
minister the  ordinances  of  Baptism,  Marriage,  and  the- 
Burial  of  the  Dead,  in  the  absence  of  an  Elder ;  and  to 
feed  the  flock  of  Christ,  so  long  as  his  spirit  and  practice 
are  such  as  become  the  p-ospeL 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand 
and  seal,  this  second  day  of  June,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-two. 


venerable  Bishop,  M'Kendree,  to  Philadelphia ;  the  fatigue 
which  he  endured  on  this  jovimey,  (short  of  100  miles,)  was 
more  than  his  weak  frame  could  bear,  and  on  his  arrival 
he  was  taken  with  a  violent  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  ;  and 
so  severe  was  the  attack,  and  so  reducing  the  consequent 
treatment,  that  he  was  brouglit  down  to  the  verge  of  the 
grave.  On  the  11th  of  June,  he  was  given  up  by  the 
physicians,  and  it  was  thought  that  a  few  hours  would  ter- 
minate his  life.  At  this  crisis,  he  declared  himself  to  be 
fully  prepared  for  the  change  which  seemed  to  be  at  hand, 
and  said  that  he  felt  "  inconceivably  happy,"  requesting  his 
brother,  who  was  present,  to  have  "  bis  mind  made  up."' 
He  then  desired  that  his  wTiting  desk  might  be  placed  by 
bis  side  on  the  bed,  and  although  so  feeble  that  he  could 


«W.  M'Kendree.  [Seal] 


"  Done  in  the  Cit' 
of  New-York."" 


n 


A  few  days  after  this  ordination,  he  proceeded  with  liis 


s2 


27 


■210  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

Imrdly  move  liis  eye,  he  wrote  the  following  dkections 
with  a  facility  truly  astonisliing  : — 

"  June  11th,  1822.  I  the  subscriber,  being  about,  as  far 
as  human  calculation  can  determine,  to  leave  this  world 
for  a  better,  being  unable  to  speak  sufficiently  to  convey 
my  last  wishes  m  certain  matters  dependent  upon  my 
death,  do  hereby  advise, 

1st.  That  my  body  be  decently  interred  in  Philadel- 
phia, where  it  now  is,  without  pomp  or  parade. 

"  2d.  That  if  it  be  the  wish  of  the  physicians,  they 
are  at  liberty  to  open  it  after  my  decease,  to  ascertain  the 
nature  of  my  complaint ;  this  may  serve  others  ;  and  as  I 
have  wished  its  strength  and  vigour  to  be  devoted  for  the 
good  of  man,  1  am  willing  that  the  corpse  be  also  so  apphed  ; 
— not  desirmg  either  to  live  to  myself,  or  die  to  myself 

3d.  I  have  little  effects  remaining  :  I  entered  not  into 
the  ministry  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  from 
pecuniary  considerations,  and  had  only  a  provision  of  food 
and  raiment ;  owing  to  the  benevolence  of  dearly  beloved 
brother  and  sister  Blackstock,  and  my  kmd  friends,  the 
sum  allowed  me  for  food  has  not  been  expended  ;  there 
mil  be  found,  therefore,  two  hundred  dollars  in  the  writing 
desk  in  my  room  at  Dr.  Beekman's,  in  a  red  pocket-book: 
this  sum  is  in  two  promissory  notes  of  the  Methodist  Book 
concern — the  money  being  lodged  there  at  interest  ; — it 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


211 


is  my  desire,  that  this  be  preserved  for  my  two  poor  girls, 
Ameha  and  Anne,  {his  sisters,)  as  a  farewell  token  of  my 
love  for  them ; — to  be  received  by,  or  for  them,  at  any 
after  period  of  theii-  hves. 

"  4th.  I  earnestly  beseech  my  good  brother  Waldo,  in 
Pine-street,  by  all  the  love  he  ever  shewed  me,  to  give  my 
portrait  to  brother  and  sister  Blackstock  ;  and  I  beg  they 
will  accept  of  it  as  a  farewell  gift. 

"  5th.  It  is  my  charge  that  my  pocket  volumes  of  MS. 
sermons,  &c.  be  retained  by  Mr.  Blackstock. — This  charge, 
is  in  trust  for  either  of  my  brothers,  Joseph,  or  WilUam,  in 
case  the  Lord  should  call  either  of  them  into  the  work 
of  the  ministry  ;  they  may  then  avail  themselves  of  my 
labours. 

'•  6th.  With  regard  to  my  Theological  books  and 
pamphlets,  Mr.  Blackstock  may  retain  them  for  the  same 
purpose  as  above :  all  my  other  books,  I  give  to  Mr. 
Blackstock ;  as  also  my  Theological  ones,  in  case  of 
failiue  of  my  hopes  with  regard  to  either  of  my  brothers. 

'•  7th.  There  is  in  the  writing  desk  in  Dr.  Beekman's, 
also,  eleven  dollars  in  notes,  and  a  ten  dollar  gold  eagle  ; 
this  sum  is  for  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  of 
which  I  am  President,  being  ten  dollars  from  Dr.  Beek- 
man  for  his  son,  ten  dollars  from  Mr.  Bethune,  and  one 
dollar  from  Mrs.  Wallace,  as  a  donation. 


212 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


"  8th.    I  owe  to  Mr.  Brown,  the  tailor,  eleven  dollars — " 

The  document  was  here  abruptly  broken  off,  at  the 
request  of  his  brother,  on  perceiving  that  the  sufferer  was 
completely  exhausted,  in  consequence  of  the  effort  he  had 
made  to  write  thus  far.  The  writing  apparatus  being 
removed,  he  laid  down  in  bed,  and  immediately  feU  into  a 
sound  sleep,  from  which  he  did  not  awake,  until  after  a 
lapse  of  sixteen  hours  I  During  this  repose,  the  natural 
energy  of  his  shattered  constitution  had  made  a  vigourous 
effort,  and  when  he  awoke,  a  change  for  the  better  had 
evidently  taken  place.  He  continued  to  improve  daily  ; 
and  in  a  week  was  able  to  write  home  the  following 
letter : — 

"  Philadelphia,  June  \8th,  1822. 

"  My  DEAR  J.\MES, 

"  I  suppose  you  will  not  expect  more  than  a  line  or  two, 
when  you  see  it  is  from  me ;  and  when  you  know  that  I 
am  writing,  while  on  my  back  in  bed. — I  still  continue  to 
improve,  and  have  had  no  return  of  the  bleeding  ;  Ellen 
(Mrs.  Blackstock)  says  she  is  better,  and  will  write  to-moi  - 
row ;  my  father  and  she  unite  with  me  in  love  to  you,  and 
William,  and  my  poor  girls  Amelia  and  Anne.  The  Lord 
bless  you  all  I 

«J.  SUMMERFIELD.-' 

Such  was  the  intense  solicitude  which  the  report  of  Mr. 
Summerfield's  illness  produced  in  Philadelphia  and  else- 
where, that  sometliing  like  bulletins,  announcing- his  conva- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


213 


lescence,  were  published  in  the  newspapers.  One  of  them 
observe?,  '•  there  is  no  better  proof  of  the  lofty  estimation  in 
which  this  gentleman's  character  and  talents  are  held,  than 
the  intense  anxiety  which  has  been  manifested  for  Iris 
recovery.  We  recollect  no  instance  of  the  kind,  in  which 
public  sympathy  has  been  so  warmly  engaged,  or  in  which 
the  danger  of  one  individual  has  produced  so  lively  a  sen- 
sation upon  the  general  mind." 

From  several  letters  received  by  Mr.  Summerfield, 
after  his  recovery,  it  appears  how  sincerely  his  fathers 
and  bretliren  in  the  ministry  sympathised  with  him. 
Passing  by  others,  the  reader  will  be  gratified  with  the 
perusal  of  a  passage  from  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by 
the  venerable  Freeborn  Garretson,  a  man  who  was  emi- 
nently revered  among  his  colleagues,  and  whose  name  is 
not  confined  to  America — he  died  in  1827.  The  letter  is 
dated  Rhinebeck,  July  5th,  1822,  and  commences — 

"  My  dear  afflicted  young  Friend, 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  two  of  our  general  superm- 
tendents,  advising  you  and  myself  to  journey  and  labour 
together,  part  at  least  of  this  summer,  if  health,  and  a 
willing  mind,  permit. — I  hope  ever  to  stand  ready  to  con- 
tribute my  Uttle  miie  to  promote  the  good  cause  in  the  best 
way  possible  :  I  cannot  converse  on  paper  with  that  cer- 
tainty, as  if  we  were  face  to  face,  and  knew  each  other's 
feelings,  <fcc.  However,  I  will  venture  to  speak,  and  judge 
ye  ;  Rhinebeck  is  a  healthy  place,  and  if  your  health  or 


214 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Strength  will  permit,  I  think  you  had  better  come  up  as 
soon  as  you  can ;  and  then  we  shall  know  better  how  to  lay 
plans  for  future  usefulness.  My  dear  young  friend,  you 
may  be  sure  of  this,  that  I  shall  be  far  from  pressing 
labours  on  you  ;  perhaps  there  has  been  too  much  of  that 
already.  It  is  possible,  with  care  and  attention,  you  may 
be  restored  to  health,  and  a  long  useful  life ;  wliich  no 
doubt  is  the  prayer  of  thousands. 

"  The  great  Head  of  the  church  knows  what  is  the 
best  for  his  creatures.  Some  he  spares  long,  and  othei-s 
he  calls  away  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  though  intrusted 
with  splendid  talents  and  signal  usefulness.  This  at  once 
may  show  us,  that  God  can  do  without  us,  and  that  we 
ought  to  sit  at  his  feet.  God  bless  you,  my  son,  and 
make  you  every  thing  he  would  have  you  be.  Pray 
for  me. 

Your's,  affectionately, 

«F.  GARRETSON." 

Mr.  Summerfield  recovered  so  slowly,  that  in  one  of  his 
letters,  he  says  concerning  his  health — "  I  begin  to  enter- 
tain serious  apprehensions  it  will  improve  no  more. — I 
think  I  have  the  prospect  of  a  lingering  decline,  not 
unlike  that  of  my  dear  mother.  I  wish  I  could  add,  that  I 
had  also  the  prospect  of  the  same  triumphant  end !  On 
this  subject  I  am  very  low."  At  the  recommendation  of 
Dr.  Physic,  and  in  the  hope  of  salutary  effects  from  the 
air  and  water  of  New-Mills,  he  took  a  journey  to  Jersey  : 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  215 

his  health,  however,  improved  "  but  slowly  :''  and  in  a  letter 
from  Burlington,  dated  August,  1822,  he  speaks  of  hia 
state  in  these  measured  terms  : — "  my  health  is  not  worse 
than  when  I  last  wrote  to  you,  but  I  think  I  may  say,  it 
IS  somewhat  improved." 

His  affectionate  and  sensitive  mind  was  at  this  time 
exposed  to  an  experiment  of  a  very  pamful  kind,  by  the 
tidings  of  the  death  of  an  eminent  physician,  whom  he 
greatly  loved,  and  whose  house  used  to  be  Mr.  Summer- 
field's  home,  when  in  Baltimore.  In  a  letter  dated  from 
Burlington,  19th  of  August,  he  says  : — "  On  Saturday  I 
received  the  distressing  news,  that  my  dear  friend,  Dr. 
Baker,  of  Baltimore,  is  an  inhabitant  of  another  world ! 
You  know  he  wrote  two  letters  to  me  during  my  Ulness, 
and  was  then  in  perfect  health !  at  that  tune,  I  was,  as 
you  saw  me,  hanging  between  time  and  eternity,  insomuch 
that  the  letters  were  kept  from  me  ; — yet  how  soon  is  the 
scene  changed  :  he  is  laid  low,  and  I  am  spared  !  Gracious 
God !  how  mysterious  are  thy  providences !  I  know  not 
why  I  was  spared,  for  truly  I  am  an  unprofitable  piece  of 
lumber,  a  burthen  to  my  friends  and  to  myself.  Oh,  that 
the  design  for  which  I  have  been  spared,  may  have  its 
full  accomphshment  in  me."  This  report  turned  out  to  be 
unfounded ;  Dr.  Baker  had  indeed  been  near  death,  but 
recovered.  What  had  been  the  exercises  and  temper  of 
Mr.  Sumraerfield's  spirit  on  this  occasion,  and  how  sincerely 
he  rejoiced  in  the  restoration  of  one  of  his  best  firiend^, 
will  appear  from  the  following  tender  letter  : — 


216 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


"  Burlington,  August  2\st,  1822. 

"  Mr  DEAR,  DOUBLY  DEAR  DoCTOR, 

"  While  I  write  to  you,  I  scarcely  believe  myself 
awake ; — it  seems  a  pleasant  dream.  To  me,  you  are  as 
one  risen  from  the  dead  !  On  Saturday  last,  I  heard  that 
Dr.  Baker  was  no  more  ! — I  wept — I  prayed — I  painted 
the  whole  picture  of  his  bereaved  family  before  my  mind  ; 
and  often  have  I  put  the  question  to  myself  since  that 
time,  what  will  become  of  the  fatherless  children  ? — 'Tis 
true,  I  had  some  cordial  in  the  cup,  for  I  anticipated  thai 
my  dear  friend  departed  in  the  full  triumph  of  faith ;  I 
feincied  the  feelings  of  the  moment,  when  the  last  thread 
was  cut,  and  he 

'  Clapt  his  glad  wings,  and  soared  away, 
To  mingle  with  the  blaze  of  day :' 

and  under  these  views,  I  had  said,  '  Their  loss  is  his  infaiitc 
gain.' — But  again,  I  had  thought  of  the  bereaved  partner, 
and  poor  Mrs.  Dickins,  and  Eloisa,  and  I  wished  I  was 
in  Baltimore,  yet  dared  not  trust  myself  to  bear  the  scene. 
— But  my  friend  lives  !  glory,  glory  be  to  God  ! — I  am 
revived  ;  my  spirits  have  risen,  all  is  well.  Oh,  my  dear 
Doctor,  I  am  partly  beside  myself,  and  I  know  not  what  to 
write ;  but  I  shall  recover  myself,  and  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven,  must  be  the  only  witness  of  the  feelings  which 
now  throb  in  my  heart. 

'  I'll  praise  Him  while  he  lends  me  breath  !' 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  217 

"  And  now  that  I  have  received  my  dear  friend  again  from 
the  dead,  now  that  Lazarus  has  risen  after  being  four  days 
in  the  grave,  shall  the  love  of  Martha  or  of  Mary  exceed 
the  gratitude  which  I  should  feel  ?  And  will  not  niy  dear 
friend  join  me  in  this,  that  He  whose  word  maketh  whole, 
hath  a  right  to  all  the  revived  powers  we  now  possess ! 
We  are  similarly  circumstanced,  and  shall  we  not  be 
similarly  excited  ?  '  While  I  Uve,  I  will  praise  the  Lord  ! 
I  will  praise  Him  as  long  as  I  have  any  being.'  And  will 
not  dear  Dr.  B.  take  up  the  same  resolution  ?  Oh,  help  me 
to  praise  the  Lord  !  I  am  lost — ^lost — lost  in  goodness  :  I 
am  out  of  depth  !  It  is  past  finding  out. 

•  Will  not  my  dear  friend  join  me  in  this  entire  consecra- 
tion of  my  renewed  existence? — Come  now,  say  the  words 
—I  feel  them  ;  and  may  our  common  Lord  accept  the 
-acrifice  we  now  make : 


'  If  so  poor  a  worm  aa  I 
May  to  thy  great  glory  live, 
All  my  actions  sanctify, 
All  my  words  and  thoughts  receive ; 
Claim  me  for  thy  service  ! — claim 
All  I  have — and  all  I  am  !— 
Now,  my  God,  thine  o^vn  I  am ! 
Now  I  give  thee  back  thine  own  ! 
Freedom,  friends,  and  health,  and  fame^ 
Consecrate  to  Thee  alone  ! 
Thine  I  live ! — thrice  happy  I ! — 
Happier  still,  if  thine  I  die ! — ' 
28 


218 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


"  Now  are  we  sanctified — set  apart  to  God  ! — Oh,  for  a 
greater  measure  of  the  influence  of  the  sanctifying  blood  ! 
It  is  yours — it  is  all  yours, — and  it  is  all  mine  !  May  we 
ever  wash  and  be  kept  clean  till  the  day  of  eternal 
redemption. 

"  My  health  is  recovering,  but  at  present,  it  is  a  pain  to 
me  to  write,  having  at  this  moment  a  tartar  plaster  on  my 
breast,  to  create  an  artificial  sore ;  this  must  excuse  the 
scrawl  I  send  you,  which  I  query  if  you  will  be  able  to 
read.  Remember  me  very  affectionately  to  Mrs.  Baker  ; 
I  have  for  some  days  offered  up  this  petition  for  her  : — '  O 
my  Lord  !  be  thou  the  husband  of  this  widow !  marry 
her  to  thyself !'  The  former  clause  may  now  want  a  Uttle 
alteration  ;  but  I  trust  she  would  make  none  in  the  latter. 
Oh,  that  she  may  ever  choose  the  Lord  as  her  spiritual 
head,  maintain  her  garments  pure,  that  she  may  be  worthy 
of  a  seat  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.  I  trust 
that  Mrs.  Dickins  has  had  frequent  opportunities  of  proving 
during  your  late  illness,  the  faithfulness  of  that  promise, 
'  as  thy  day  is,  so  shall  thy  strength  be.' — Tell  her,  I  often 
connect  her  with  myself  in  these  words,  which  raise  my 
heart  on  many  occasions — 

'  Our  sufferings  here  will  soon  be  past, 
And  you,  and  I,  ascend  at  last. 
Triumphant  with  our  Head  !' 

"  Present  my  kind  regard  to  Eloisa,  and  my  love  to  all 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


219 


the  little  ones ;  Oh,  that  the  lover  of  httle  children,  may 
gather  all  your  httle  ones  as  a  hen  gathers  her  chickens 
under  her  wings  !  Remember  me  to  Mr.  WiUiam  Wilkins, 
and  to  any  who  inquue  about  me.  Farewell — farewell — 
my  pain  tells  me  I  must  conclude — To  God  I  commend 
you  all. 

«J.  SUMMERFIELD.  " 

Several  letters,  WTitten  during  his  absence  from  home, 
to  various  members  of  his  family,  might  with  propriety  be 
quoted  here,  did  not  the  fear  of  prolixity  forbid  it.  While 
at  Burlington,  it  was  the  concurrent  sentiment  of  his  phy- 
sicians, that  the  restoration  of  his  health  would  be  most 
materially  promoted  by  a  voyage  to  some  of  the  West 
India  Islands.  He  therefore  wrote  to  the  Conference,  then 
assembled  at  Marietta,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  for  permission 
to  make  the  visit,  and  likewise  for  official  testimonials. 
From  the  seat  of  this  Conference,  he  received,  under  date 
of  September  10th,  1822,  an  episcopal  permissive  letter,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy  :— 

"  Mr  DEAR  Brother, 

"  Your  kind  favour  of  the  28th  ultimo,  was  duly 
received  yesterday,  and  its  contents  marked  \vith  the  atten- 
tion their  importance  demands. 

"  I  rejoice  greatly  to  hear  of  your  returning  health,  and 
hope  that  it  may  be  fully  confirmed.  It  certainly  is  a  duty 
we  owe  to  our  friends,  the  church  of  God,  and  to  ourselves, 


220 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


to  use  every  means  within  our  power  to  preserve,  restore, 
and  perpetuate  our  health.  The  course  recommended  by 
your  friendly  physicians  is  probably  the  best  calculated  to 
obtain  the  desirable  object  of  your  pursuit. 

••  Having  consulted  Bishop  George  on  the  subject,  we 
both  approve  of  the  plan  recommended  by  your  friendly 
physicians,  and  hereby  give  you  full  liberty  to  visit  the 
West  India  Islands,  for  the  benefit  of  your  health,  and 
strengthening  of  your  constitution.  As  soon  as  your  con- 
veniency  may  point  out  the  way,  and  prudence  justify  your 
return,  we  shall  be  happy  to  see  you,  at  any  of  the 
Southern  Conferences,  or  elsewhere,  as  a  kind  providence 
may  open  your  way  to  return  to  us  again. 

"  The  business  of  this  Conference  has  progressed  in 
great  peace  and  harmony  ; — this  is  a  large  conference,  sta- 
tioning this  year,  one  hundred  and  five  preachers ;  and  in 
addition  to  its  ordinary  business,  it  superintends  the  mission 
to  the  Wyandott  Indians :  that  mission  is  both  important 
and  prosperous.  Three  of  the  chiefs  attended  the  Confe- 
rence :  they  had  an  interview  with  us  in  the  Conference, 
through  the  medium  of  an  interpreter ;  and  on  the  sabbath, 
one  of  them  addressed  the  congregation,  by  way  of  exhor- 
tation. He  was  very  impressive  and  affecting,  and  spoke 
much  to  the  purpose.  He  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the 
hearers,  and  there  were  many  tears  shed.  It  was  a 
pleasing  scene  to  behold  there  our  red  brethren  of  the 
forest  unite  with  us  in  religious  and  devotional  exercises. 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


221 


"  The  piospectg  of  the  missions  are  pleasing,  and  we 
hope  they  will  increase  in  number  and  extent.  Subjoined, 
is  your  recommendation.  And  may  the  blessing  of  the 
God  of  land  and  sea  be  your  support  in  sickness  and 
health,  in  time  and  eternity.  Adieu,  perhaps  forever  as  to 
time ! 

"  I  am  your  friend  and  brother,  in  Christ, 
(Signed)  "W.  M'KENDREE. 

«  Marietta,  Ohio,  September  10,  1822." 

With  the  foregoing  letter  was  transmitted  the  subjoined 
certificate : — 

"  The  Rev.  John  Summerfield,  the  bearer  hereof,  is  a 
minister  of  reputable  standing  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  is  travelUng, 
by  the  advice  of  physicians,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
and  is  hereby  recommended  to  the  particular  attention  of 
all  our  worthy  brethren  and  friends,  with  whom  providence 
may  place  him. 

(Signed)  "  W.  M'KENDREE. 

"Marietta,  Ohio,  Sq>tember  10,  1822." 

His  visit  to  New- Jersey  brought  him  into  contact  with 
several  gentlemen  connected  with  Princeton  College ;  and 
the  senatus  academicus  of  this  establishment  resolved  to 
shew  their  sense  of  the  piety  and  talents  of  Mr.  Summer- 
field,  by  creating  him  a  Master  of  Arts.  The  following  is 
the  Diploma : 
T  2 


222 


MEMOIRS  or  THE 


Praises  et  Curatores  Collkgii  Neo  CiESARiENsis. 

Omnibus  el  singulii  hoc  scriptum  lecturis, 
Salutem  in  Domino  sempitemam. 

Cum  gradus  academici  eum  in  finem  instituti  fuerxint,  ut 
viri  ingenio  et  doctrina  praediti  titulis  praeter  caeteros  insig- 
nirentur,  eo  ut  ipsis  prosit,  et  inter  homines  scientiae  et  vii-- 
tutiss  tudium  augeatur  cumque  nobis  exploratissimum  sit 
Johannem  Summerjield,  virum  ingenuum,  moribus  incul- 
patum,  de  literis  humanioribus  variisque  studiis  honestis 
optima  meritum  esse. 

Nos  igitur,  Praeses  et  Curatores  antedicti,  praefatum 
Johannem  Summerfield  magistrum  in  artibus  renunciavimus 
et  constituimus,  eumque,  virtute  praesentis  diplomatis,  sin- 
gulis juribus,  privilegiis  et  honoribus  ad  istum  gradum  qua- 
qua  pertinentibus  frui  et  gaudere  jussimus. 

In  cujus  rei  testimonium  nostra  nomina  subscripsimus 
et  sigillum  coUegii  nostri  huic  membranae  apponi  fecimus. 

Isaac  H.  Williamson,  Prases. 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick, 

R.  Stockton, 

Carolus  Ewing, 

Samuel  L.  Southard, 

Samuel  Miller, 
Datum  Aulffi  Nassovicte,  George  S.  WoodhULL, 

Octavo  Kalendas  Octobris,       JoANNES  VaNCLEVE, 
Anno  Domini  MDCCCXXn.     RoBERT  LeNOX, 

Curatores. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


223 


In  the  month  of  October,  Mr.  Summerfield  once  more 
embraced  his  family  and  friends  in  New- York.  From 
that  city  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  liis  yovmgest 
sister,  then  on  a  visit  at  Rhinebeck.  The  spirit  of  frater- 
nal affection  which  breathes  through  every  line,  must 
render  any  apology  for  its  introduction  unnecessary. 

«  J>rew-York,  October  24th,  1822. 

"  Mr  DEAR  Anne, 

"  If  you  are  as  anxious  to  receive  a  letter  from  us  as  we 
are  to  see  you  eigain,  you  must  be  very  impatient  indeed ; — 
I  have  undertaken  to  write  to  you  myself,  and  I  really 
am  vain  enough  to  think  you  would  rather  receive  a  letter 
from  me  than  any  of  the  family  beside. 

"  I  had  anticipated  for  a  long  time  the  pleasure  of  paying 
a  visit  to  Rhinebeck,  but  one  thmg  after  another  occurred 
to  prevent  me,  so  that  I  now  despair  of  accomphshing 
my  wishes  in  this  respect ; — however,  as  I  do  not  expect 
to  sail  for  the  West  Indies  before  the  middle  of  next  month, 
I  hope  to  see  you  here,  as  I  suppose  you  will  be  frozen 
out  of  Rhinebeck  before  that  time. 

"  I  trust  that  my  dear  Anne  conducts  herself  in  all 
respects  worthy  of  her  brother,  and  increases  daily  in 
favour  with  God  and  man  ; — you  know  I  often  talk  of 
you  as  a  child  of  my  own  rearing ;  therefore,  never  bring 
my  glory  to  shame.  Fear  God  and  keep  his  command- 
ment? ;  do  not  neglect  any  seasons  of  private  prayer  which 


224 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


present  themselves,  but  call  upon  the  Lord  every  day  while 
you  have  any  being. 

'  A  flower,  when  offered  in  the  bud, 
Is  no  mean  sacrifice.' 

"  I  have  full  confidence  in  my  dear  Anne,  that  she  will 
do  even  more  than  I  say ;  never  let  a  day  pass  without 
reading  a  portion  of  God's  word ;  so  you  shall  be  made 
wise  unto  salvation,  and  dwell  with  me,  and  your  elder 
brother — the  Lord  Jesus,  for  ever  and  ever. 

All  that  I  have  said  to  you,  appUes  to  my  dear  Catha- 
rine also ;  give  her  my  best  love,  and  tell  her  she  must 
be  in  this  respect  of  one  heart  and  one  mind  with  you, 
that  so  your  intimacy  may  be  continued  in  heaven,  after 
each  of  you  have  bid  adieu  to  every  earthly  scene.  Oh, 
my  dear  Anne,  think  often  on  these  things ;  converse 
frequently  with  death  and  the  grave ;  and  pray  to  Him 
who  tasted  death  for  you,  to 

'  Teach  you  to  live,  that  you  may  dread 
The  grave  as  little  as  your  bed.' 

"  I  have  had  a  peep  into  the  grave  lately ;  and  assure  ^ 
you,  it  is  not  so  dark  as  fallen  nature  views  it  with  the 
eye  of  sense. 


"  Remember  me  affectionately  to  Mrs.  Suckley,  Mary 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


225 


;uid  Sarah ;  also,  to  Mr.,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Garretson,  and 
(hank  them  very  cordially  for  their  kind  wishes  that  I 
should  come  to  Rhinebeck;  I  fear  they  would  have  spoiled 
me  with  extravagant  kindness, — if  indeed  that  is  not 
already  done. 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  Anne, — be  good,  and  you  will  be 
happv. 

*'  Your  loving  and  affectionate 

«  JOHN." 


226 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTION  XIII. 

Sails  for  France — interesting  letters  from  Marseillet. 

The  state  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  health,  requiring  that 
he  should  try  the  effects  of  a  change  of  climate,  it  was 
settled,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  he  should  for  a  while 
leave  North  America  and  visit  the  West  India  Islands. 
This  projected  trip,  however,  for  which  arrangements  had 
been  made,  was  ultimately  abandoned  in  favou"  o  a  voy- 
age to  Europe,  one  great  object  of  which,  is  clearly  exhi- 
bited in  the  following  extract  of  a  letter,  written  three 
days  before  he  sailed,  to  his  "  ever  valued  friend,"  Doctor 
Baker : — 

"  While  you  are  reading  this,  I  am  saihng  on  the  deep ; 
lift  up  your  heart,  and  say,  '  the  Lord  be  with  thy  spirit !' 
— the  vessel  is  the  fine  new  ship  Six  Brothers  ;  her  desti- 
nation is  Marseilles,  where  we  hope  to  arrive  in  forty-five 
days.  Our  captain  is  every  thing  I  could  wish,  and  we 
have  one  passenger,  who  will  be  one  heart  and  soul  with 
me.  I  have  been  appointed  a  delegate  from  the  American 
Bible  Society  to  the  Protestant  Bible  Society  of  France, 
whose  Anniversary  I  shall  have  to  attend  in  April  next : 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


227 


with  my  credentials,  I  carry  letters  of  the  most  flattering 
kmd  to  the  Marquis  de  Jarcourt,  peer  of  France,  Mr.  Gal- 
latin, Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  American  consuls,  &,c.  and  a 
fry  of  letters  of  introduction  to  ministers,  merchants,  and 
private  gentlemen  ; — my  ennui,  therefore,  in  a  strange 
country,  will  be  greatly  reheved ;  but  the  best  of  all  is, 
'  God  is  with  me' — His  favovir  is  better  than  life  itself ! 
Earthly  pageantry  fades  away,  when  brought  into  compe- 
tition with  Him.  Remember  me  at  a  throne  of  grace, 
and  expect  to  meet  me  there.  It  may  seem  a  httle  strange, 
that  having  sent  two  prints  of  my  portrait  to  your  city, 
one  to  Mr.  Soule,  and  one  to  Mr.  Harden,  I  have  not  sent 
a  third  to  my  good  friend  in  Light-street :  the  reason  is,  I 
I  have  reserved  the  '  better  thing'  for  you ;  should  I  be 
spared,  and  ever  remove  to  Baltunore,  I  shall  personally 
present  you  with  the  original  painting,  from  which  the 
print  has  been  taken.  And  now,  my  dear  Doctor,  I  com- 
mend you  and  your's  to  Him  who  is  able  to  keep  you.  My 
time  is  short ;  you  shall  hear  from  me  when  abroad. 

"  Farewell ;  ever  your's, 

«J.  SUMMERFIELD." 

On  the  25th  of  December,  1822,  he  took  his  departure 
(rom  New- York,  in  the  ship  Six  Brothers,  Captain  Mason, 
bo\md  to  Marseilles.  It  is  due  to  Captain  Wilhams,  one 
of  the  owners  of  the  vessel,  to  state,  that  he  generously 
jave  Mr.  Summerfield  a  free  passage  to  the  port  of  their 
lestination  ;  this  kindness,  added  to  the  hberality  of  his 
"rieuds,  enabled  the  beloved  invalid  to  remain  abroad  a 


32S  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

longer  time,  and  with  greater  comfort,  than  otherwise  he 
might  have  done. 

A  selection  from  a  highly  interesting  series  of  letters  may 
appropriately  be  introduced  in  this  place,  exhibiting  as  they 
do,  in  the  most  striking  manner,  the  movements,  engage- 
ments, and  feelings  of  the  writer. 

[To  Mr.  Blackstock.] 

Marseilles,  28th  January^  1823. 

Mv  DEAR  James— 

"I  know  not  whether  you  will  have  heard  of  our  safe 
arrival  before  this  letter  reaches  you,  but  at  all  events,  /  do 
know  that  you  will  be  very  anxious  to  hear  ;  and  I  antici- 
pate the  pleasure  which  these  lines  will  produce,  while  you 
read  them,  one  after  the  other,  father,  brothers,  and  sisters — 
and  T  know  not  who  besides.  Yesterday,  we  dropped  our 
anchor  in  the  port  of  Marseilles,  safe  and  sound. — Bless  the 
Lord  of  winds  and  seas !  Oh  praise  the  Lord  with  me, 
and  let  us  exalt  his  holy  name  together. 

"  Our  passage  has  excited  much  wonder  here — for  truly 
it  was  an  uncommon  one.  On  the  third  Sunday  after  our 
departure  we  sailed  past  the  Azores,  the  first  European 
land  ;  and  so  regular  were  we  in  all  our  movements,  that 
\ye  reckoned  to  a  day  our  time,  and  it  was  done  unto  us 
'  even  as  we  would,' 


"  We  appointed  in  our  arrangements,  that  on  the  fol- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


229 


lowing  Sabbath  we  should  pass  the  straits  of  Gibraltar, 
and  it  was  even  so  ; — on  the  evening  of  that  day  we  were 
clear  entered  the  Mediterranean.  We  again  continued 
our  confidence  in  the  goodness  of  Him  who  '  holds  the 
winds  in  his  fist,'  and  reckoned  our  arrival  at  Marseilles  on 
the  following  Sabbath ; — it  was  even  so,  that  on  the  night 
of  that  day  we  were  riding  in  the  bay,  and  the  next  day 
arrived  a  pilot  on  board,  and  so  made  the  harbour  on  the 
tliirty-second  day — at  least  a  fortnight  before  our  most 
sanguine  expectations. 

"  As  tliis  is  merely  a  letter  of  advice  of  our  arrival,  I  for- 
bear to  enlarge  on  any  other  subject.  By  the  first  vessel 
that  leaves  this  place  for  the  United  States,  I  intend  sending 
a  letter  to  each  of  you,  making  half  a  dozen,  and  also  to 
some  other  of  my  New- York  friends.  This  letter  T 
send  by  the  way  of  Liverpool,  and  this  must  be  a 
suflScient  apology  for  not  writing  to  any  other  by  this 
conveyance."  ***** 

[To  Mr.  Francis  Hall.] 

Marseilles,  Gth  February,  1823. 

Mr  VERY  DEAR  FrIEND  

"Before  this  shall  reach  you,  you  will  have  been  aji 
prized  through  Mr.  Blackstock  of  the  good  speed  we  made 
upon  our  voyage.  I  think  I  never  experienced  more  settled 
peace  of  mind  than  during  that  time,  and  it  was  as  perma- 
nent as  it  was  perfect;  like  that  steady  sunshine  of  which 
our  "Wesley  sings,  when 
u 


230 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


'Not  a  cloud  doth  arise  to  darken  the  skies, 
Or  hide  for  a  moment  my  Lord  from  my  eyes.' 

I  was  a  wonder  unto  myself — the  word  of  the  Lord  seemed 
sealed  upon  my  heart,  '  Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect 
peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  upon  thee,  because  he  trusteth 
in  thy  word  !'  I  had  not  a  moments  uneasiness  concerning 
the  happy  termination  of  our  voyage  ;  I  felt  that  Jesus  was 
with  me  in  my  little  state  room, '  in  the  hinder  part  of  the 
ship,'  and  partially  confined  to  it,  as  I  was,  by  reason  of  the 
wet  weather,  I  found  by  experience  that 

'  Prisons  can  palaces  prove, 
If  Jesus  but  deigns  to  be  there.' 

Whenever  I  threw  the  reins  upon  the  neck  of  my 
imagination,  which  I  frequently  did  by  way  of  relaxation 
from  severer  studies,  I  found  my  thoughts  involuntarily  to 
lead  me  back  to  New- York,  instead  of  presenting  me  with 
any  airy  speculations  of  the  pleasure  I  should  meet  with 
in  my  native  land,  while  tramping  up  and  down  again  the 
scenes  of  my  bopsh,  but  my  happy  days ; — truly,  if  the 
wmd  had  veered  round,  whenever  my  fancy  took  this  turn, 
and  our  vessel  had  sped  its  course  in  the  same  direction, 
you  would  never  have  heard  from  me  at  '  JMarseilles.'  I 
found,  that  though  America  was  but  lately  to  me  a  land  of 
strangers,  my  heart — my  affections — all  said  it  was  now 
my  'ifonie  /'  and  thus,  in  a  subordinate  sense,  where  my 
treasure  was  there  was  my  heart  also. — And  indeed,  when 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


231 


I  consider  ihe  friends  that  the  '  Strangers'  God'  had  raised 
me  lip,  and  then  dwelt  upon  the  ten  thousand  acts  of  kind- 
ness which  those  friends  have  showed  me  for  '  His  sake,'  I 
could  only  wonder,  love,  and  praise. 

"  Among  this  crowd,  my  dear  brother  Hall  holds  no 
iecond  place,  and  it  is  only  in  acknowledgment  of  a  vast 
debt  of  gratitude,  which  I  can  but  confess — but  never  ;)ay — 
that  I  write  to  him  by  the  first  conveyance  this  coimtry 
has  presented  me  with,  in  a  vessel  bound  to  Boston.  I 
had  hoped  for  an  interview  on  Christmas  morning,  but  our 
ship  hauled  away  too  early  to  permit  it ;  I  had  not  taken 
my  leave  in  Walker-street  the  evening  previous — your 
kindness  was  at  that  time  too  oppressive  to  admit  of  it ; — 
but  perhaps  it  was  well — for  I  know  not  how  long  the 
'  farewell !'  might  have  hung  upon  my  tongue,  and  lin- 
gered on  my  lips  ;  but  I  thought  of  you  that  morning, 
though  I  saw  you  not,  and  sent  more  than  one  petition  to 
the  Throne  of  Grace,  that  a  '  prophet's  reward'  might  be 
yours,  multipUed  as  much  beyond  the  recompense  promised 
to  a  cup  of  cold  water,  as  your  sub^tetntial  gift  exceeded 
that  in  value.  May  the  hearer  of  prayer  realize  to  you  my 
heart's  desire,  and  fill  you  with  all  the  fuhiess  of  his  holy 
love."  

[To  HIS  Father.] 

Marseilles,  1th  February,  1823. 
"  Mr  DEAR  Father — 

"  My  health  is  somewhat  better  than  w  hen  1 


232 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


left  you ;  indeed,  considering  the  dampness  of  a  sea  atmos-' 
phere,  rendered  still  more  so  by  the  rain  which  fell  every 
day,  more  or  less,  until  we  entered  the  straits  of  Gibraltar, 
it  is  remarkably  so,  I  am  now  reaping  the  advantage  of 
the  voyage,  more  than  I  was  able  to  do  at  sea  ;  my  appe- 
tite is  uncommonly  good,  but  I  only  gratify  it  in  the 
plainest  food.  The  soups  of  France  are  just  what  answer 
me ;  in  most  of  them,  no  animal  food  whatever  enters  into 
their  composition — vermicelli,  and  other  Italian  pastes, 
twisted  in  the  shape  of  little  worms,  or  rounded  like  a  pea 
or  bean,  form  the  substantial  part ;  the  hquid  appears  to  be 
chiefly  sweet  oil,  which  is  here  very  fine,  and  for  which  I 
have  acquired  a  high  relish.  My  cough  is  much  softer 
than  it  was,  and  I  expectorate  with  great  freedom  ;  this,  I 
attribute  in  some  measure  to  the  drying  up  of  the  issue  on 
my  breast — the  other,  on  my  arm,  is  also  heahng  ;  so  that 
I  will  try  the  effects  of  this  measure.  I  found  they  had 
always  the  effect  of  making  the  cough  hard  and  spasmodi- 
cal, carrymg  off  the  mucus  which  was  secreted  within, 
without  removing  the  radical  disease. 

'•  I  talce  little  or  no  medicine,  endeavouring  to  produce  a 
change  by  diet  and  exercise.  With  regard  to  the  latter,  I 
live  methodically,  and  arrange  to  walk  at  least  eight  miles 
every  day,  dividing  it  into  four  different  times,  to  render  it 
more  agreeable.  In  short,  I  have  solemnly  joined  hands 
Avith  God,  to  preserve  my  life,  and  restore  my  poor  and 
feeble  constitution  ;  I  have  devoted  myself  to  Him  afresh, 
'  and  promised  in  a  sacred  hour,  for  God  to  live  and  die.' 


EEV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD, 


233 


I  can  indeed  say — for  I  really /eeZ  it  to  be  tme — this  world 
has  no  attractions  for  me, 

*  Tliere's  nothing  here  deserves  my  joys, 
There's  nothing  hke  my  God.' 

I  have  therefore  no  desire  to  hve  but  for  Him ;  and  I  can- 
not, my  dear  father,  disguise  the  feelings  of  my  heart,  foi 
I  confess  to  you,  I  am  rather  unwiUing  to  go  away  so  soon 
after  entering  the  lists  against  '  the  god  of  tliis  world,' 
although  I  have  a  sweet  foretaste  that  when  I  shall  be  ab- 
sent from  the  body,  I  shall  be  present  with  the  Lord ;  yet 
I  feel  as  if  I  could  endure  this  privation  from  His  presence 
for  some  time  longer,  lhat  I  may  come  down  like  a  shock 
of  corn  full  ripe  in  its  season,  '  filled  with  the  fruits  of 
righteousness,  wliich  are  by  Christ  Jesus,  unto  the  glory 
and  praise  of  God  the  Father.'  When  I  reflect  on  the 
word  in  which  I  tmst,  '  that  they  who  turn  many  to 
righteousness  shaU  shine  as  the  stars,'  &c.  I  feel  fired  with 
a  holy  ambition,  which  consumes  me  with  its  fervour.  I 
hunger  and  thirst  after  this,  and  I  feel  a  cleaving  to  earth 
that  I  may  finish  the  work  which  I  beUeve  is  given  me  to 
do.  If  I  could  only  hve  to  see  '  many  sons  bringing  home 
to  glory,'  whom  I  might  present  to  the  Captain  of  our  sal- 
vation, I  could  then  say,  '  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  de- 
part in  peace,  according  to  thy  word,  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  great  salvation  !'  You  know,  my  dear  father, 
and  I  know,  and  God  knows  also — and  I  blush  even  now 
while  I  write  it — that  much  of  my  life  hos  run  to  waste ; 
u  2  30 


234 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


in  the  former  part  of  it  /  lived  to  myself,  and  not  to  Him  wlut 
loved  me,  and  gam  himself  for  me  !  I  will  not — I  cannol 
forgive  myscK — no,  never — But  I  want  to  make  some 
better  return  to  my  dying,  risen  Saviour — I  wish  to  bear 
the  burden,  and  keat,  and  toil  of  a  long — laborious — uell 
spent  day ;  I  wish  to  serve  my  generation  by  the  will  of 
God,  and  then  to  fall  asleep  !  Oh,  that  God  would  grant 
me  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer — But  if  not — if  my 
spared  life  would  not  conduce  to  His  glory — I  could 
gladly  lay  me  down  and  die  !  '  Lord  God  !  thou  seest  the 
end  from  the  beginnuig  ! — do  with  me  as  seemeth  good  in 
thy  sight.' " 

[to  his  second  sister. 

'^Marseilles,  February  lOth,  1823. 
"  My  dear  Amelia, 

"  In  writing  a  letter  to  you,  in  common  with  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  I  not  only  do  myself  a  real  plea- 
sure, but  I  discharge,  in  some  measure,  at  least  by 
acknowledgement — a  debt  of  gratitude  I  owe  you,  and 
which  has  been  long  accumulating,  by  your  thousand  name- 
less attentions  to  my  thousand  nameless  wants  and  anxie- 
ties ;  the  remembrance  of  them  is  much  more  lively  at 
this  distance  of  time  and  place,  than  when  I  received  them 
nearer,  resembling  some  of  those  finer  scenes  of  nature, 
which  we  only  accurately  estimate  when  viewed  in  per- 
spective, and  at  a  distance.  Nor  are  there  wanting  dark 
spots  in  abundance  on  the  scene,  to  serve  as  shadows  in 
setting  off  the  lustre  of  the  foreground  ;  I  mean  in  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


235 


indifference  with  which  I  too  frequently  received  many  of 
those  attentions,  not  considering  that  they  derived  their 
value  from  the  motive  which  actuated  them,  rather  than 
from  their  intrinsic  worth.  However,  '  forgetting  that 
which  is  behind,  and  reaching  forth  to  those  things  which 
are  before,'  I  trust  yet  to  have  years  of  opportunity,  to 
assure  you  of  my  sincere  esteem  and  affection,  during 
which  time,  and  till  death  shall  make  the  separation  finsd 
as  to  this  world,  I  desire, — and  command  you  always  to 
regard  me  not  merely  as  a  brother,  but  as  a  friend ;  '  a 
friend'  sometimes  '  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother — at 
least  there  is  such  a  friend,  and  I  have  made  him  mine ; 
I  would  fain  recommend  him  to  you ;  '  if  you  seek  him 
he  will  be  found  of  you' — and  with  special  reference  to 
your  lime  of  Ufe,  He  says,  '  I  love  them  that  love  me,  and 
they  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me.' 

"  After  writing  the  preceding  page,  and  reading  it  over. 
I  find  I  have  been  almost  involuntarily  led  to  a  subject 
which  lies  near  my  heart,  with  respect  to  you  and  Anne, 
I  have  long  felt  it  a  duty  I  owed  to  you,  to  discourse  seri 
ously  upon  it, — but  somehow  or  other,  there  is  such  a 
backwardness  to  say  that  to  one's  relations,  which  can  be 
easily  discoursed  upon  with  mere  acquaintances,  that  I 
have  put  it  off  agam  and  again,  frequently  to  my  great 
condemnation.  At  your  age,  my  dear  AmeUa,  you  must 
be  fully  sensible  that  this  is  the  time  to  form  your  character 
in  the  world; — I  say  in  the  world, — for  it  is  not  enough 
that  yoin-  family  are  acquainted  with  your  regard  for 


286 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


religious  men  and  things ;  there  must  be  a  profession 
made  of  this  your  attachment,  and  a  union  foraied  with 
some  people  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity. 

"  Perhaps  you  would  wish  my  advice  on  this  subject,  as 
to  what  church  you  ought  to  make  choice  of  ; — if  left  to 
me,  I  would  unhesitatingly  say,  '  follow  my  example 
herein,'  for  although  I  see  many  things  among  the  Metho- 
dists which  I  could  wish  to  be  otherwise, — yet  I  sincerely 
believe,  take  them  as  a  body,  they  are  the  excellent  of  the 
earth,  and  have  most  of  the  hfe  of  God  among  them, 

"  Do,  my  dear  AmeUa,  consider  this  matter  with  serious- 
ness and  prayer  to  God  for  wisdom  to  direct  you,  and  let 
me  hear  from  you  in  answer  to  this,  with  your  mind  in 
full.  Whatever  objections  you  might  find  to  talk  to  me 
about  these  things,  you  can  have  none  to  write  to  me 
about  them.  I  wish  you  also  to  lay  the  matter  before 
Anne ;  she  is  old  enough  to  serve  the  Lord,  and  T  do 
trust,  that  so  far  from  her  being  a  hinderance,  she  will  be  a 
help  to  you. 

"  May  the  Lord  enable  you  to  lay  it  to  heart !  May  he 
bless  you,  and  keep  you  in  his  favour,  fear,  and  love,  all 
the  days  of  your  life,  and  may  I  meet  you  and  embrace 
you  among  those  who  will  stand  with  the  Lamb  upon 
Mount  Zion,  after  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  fled 
away. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


237 


•■  Farewell,  my  dear  love,  from  the  warm  heart  of  your 
affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

"  JOHN." 

[to  his  youngest  sister.] 

"Marseilles,  February  I2th,  1823. 

"  My  dear  Anne, 

"  As  I  promised  in  my  letter  to  Mr.  B  to  write 

to  each  of  you,  your  turn  now  comes  on  ;  and  yet  what 
have  I  to  say  more  concerning  my  voyage  than  I  have 
already  said  to  the  rest  of  the  family?  You  will  only 
expect  the  gleanings  ;  and  as  you  are  the  least,  you  will  be 
satisfied  with  little  things. — On  the  ninth  day  after  we 
sailed,  we  picked  up  at  sea  a  httle  passenger,  that  had 
lost  its  way,  and  would  certainly  have  been  drowned  in  a 
few  minutes,  if  no  help  had  arrived :  it  was  a  snipe,  a 
land  bird  that  inhabits  the  swampy  ground.  We  were 
then  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest 
land,  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  and  so  exhausted  was 
the  little  creature,  that  it  perched  upon  our  rigging,  and 
suffered  itself  to  be  caught  without  resistance.  The  flight 
of  birds  is  very  rapid,  and  they  can  bear  up  on  the  wing- 
much  longer  than  you  may  imagine.  The  surprise,  there- 
fore, which  this  httle  straggler  may  occasion  you,  will  be 
much  reduced,  when  I  inform  you,  that  birds  called  pigeon- 
caniers,  are  employed  by  the  Emperor  of  Turkey  to  con- 
vey intelligence  to  him  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  his 
empire,  and  they  ordinarily  perform  a  journey  in  thirty- 
six  hours,  which  it  would  require  eight  days  of  cou- 


238 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


rier-despatches  to  accomplish.  The  plan  is  this :— A  quan- 
tity of  these  birds  is  kept  in  the  seragho  of  Coiistantinople, 
and  from  this  aviary,  a  basket-full  is  occasionally  sent  to 
distant  governors,  according  as  they  are  wanted.  These 
governors,  on  any  urgent  occasion,  affix  a  letter  of  des- 
patches to  the  legs  or  neck,  or  under  the  wings,  of  one  of 
them,  and  let  it  fly  ;  thus  released,  it  ascends  the  air  to  a 
great  height,  and  by  its  powers  of  vision,  which  are  incon- 
ceivably acute,  it  then  directs  its  way  to  the  aviary  at  Con- 
stantinople, nor  ever  misses  its  destination.  All  this  is 
performed  without  once  ahghting  to  rest  itself.  To  return 
to  our  little  companion :  it  appeared  to  have  been  blown 
off  shore  the  preceding  evening,  in  a  squall  of  wind,  and 
missed  its  way  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  We  all  agreed 
to  give  the  little  fellow  his  passage  free,  and  find  him  in 
sea  stores  likewise,  intending  to  release  him  at  the  first  land 
we  should  reach.  For  this  purpose  we  put  liim  in  a  large 
wooden  cage,  and  gave  him  his  supper ;  but  alas  !  alas  !  in 
the  course  of  the  night  Miss  Pussy  found  her  way  to  his 
apartment,  and  jealous  of  a  rival,  she  broke  all  the  laws  of 
hospitality,  and  tore  him  in  pieces  !  Thus,  he  only  escaped 
a  watery  grave,  to  find  one  in  the  stomach  of  the  cat. 

"  Besides  the  above  incident,  we  had  two  other  visiters 
during  our  passage,  but  neither  of  them  remained  long  with 
us :  two  flying  fishes  aUghted  on  our  deck — and  lo  !  our 
black  cook,  imitating  the  bad  example  of  the  cat,  seized 
them,  and  put  them  in  the  frying  pan.  I  was  too  sorry 
for  their  fate  to  partake  of  them,  when  served  up  at  table, 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD, 


239 


and  could  not  help  reflecting,  that  just  such  is  man !  He 
lives  upon  his  fellow  man,  and  lives  upon  the  hves  even  of 
his  species  ;  and  he  is  in  general  accounted  the  cleverest 
feUow  who  rises  to  most  eminence  upon  the  most  numerous 
overthrows. 

"  I  know  not  that  any  thing  of  importance  occurred  ex- 
cept the  above.  I  was  a  httle  surprised  that  we  saw  no 
other  fish  on  the  whole  voyage  except  these  unfortunate 
ones — not  even  a  whale,  a  porpoise,  or  a  dolphin  ;  and  ex- 
cept that  now  and  then  the  cat  would  march  proudly  into 
our  cabin  with  a  poor  mouse  in  her  mouth,  we  had  the 
duU  uniformity  of  getting  up  in  the  morning,  eating  three 
limes  in  the  day,  walking  the  deck  a  little — interspersed 
with  intervals  of  reading,  and  let  me  not  be  ashamed  to 
add.  intervals  of  private  prayer  also — and  then  going  to 
bed  at  night. 

"  At  the  time  of  our  departure,  we  had  on  board  a  couple 
of  pigs,  which  shared  a  better  fate  than  those  on  board  the 
General  Lingan ;  they  hved  and  grew  large,  and  are  still 
alive  and  well ;  besides  them,  a  sheep,  but  the  cook's  knife 
rnteied  his  throat  in  the  course  of  the  voyage — and  he  is 
no  more  ; — in  addition  to  these,  a  very  handsome  goat 
completed  our  stock  of  four-footed  animals ;  she  supplied 
us  wilh  milk  all  the  passage,  and  was  very  playful,  and 
indeed  very  mischievous  also  :  she  w-ould  pay  me  a  visit  in 
my  state  room,  at  midnight,  and  eat  the  herbs  and  garlic 
which  were  in  the  box  under  my  birth  ; — but  poor  Nan 


240 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


took  sick  about  three  days  before  we  arrived ;  from  some 
Spanish  whiting  which  she  ate,  and  we  feared  she  would 
have  gone  the  way  of  the  sheep,  only  by  a  natural  process  ; 
however,  I  administered  to  her  a  bolus  of  sulphur  and 
butter,  which  had  the  desired  effect,  and  by  the  time  that 
we  arrived  at  Marseilles,  she  was  well  again.  I  received 
the  honourary  title  of  Doctor,  in  recompense  for  this  piece 
of  service,  but  now  that  I  have  left  the  ship,  I  have  lost 
the  title  ;  it  seems  this  is  my  sea  title  only  ;  however,  I  am 
not  so  ambitious  to  preserve  it  as  to  take  up  the  seafaring 
life  as  my  profession.  I  would  gladly  let  go  every  title, 
and  remain  on  terra  firma. 

"  I  have  thus  filled  you  a  sheet  of  paper,  or  rather  spoiled 
a  sheet  with  useless  stuff ;  but  it  afforded  me  a  httle  amuse- 
ment in  writing  it — and  indeed  much  pleasure,  when  I 
fancied  myself  conversing  with  my  dear  Anne. — I  expect 
she  will  write  to  me  in  return ;  you  must  not  say  you 
have  nothing  to  say,  for  you  see  I  have  filled  up  a  letter 
fi-om — nothing,  and  this  will  show  you,  that  the  most 
trifling  subject  may  be  made  to  spread  and  expand  itself 
much  beyond  its  first  appearances. 

"  I  have  written  to  Amelia  on  subjects  more  important 
than  these,  and  I  expect  she  will  show  you  the  letter  ;  1 
conclude,  therefore,  this  medley  of  incongruous  matter, 
with  the  a^urance  of  the  sincerest  affection  of, 
j  "  My  dear  Anne, 

I  "  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  JOHN." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


[To  Mr.  Blackstock.] 

"Marseilles,  Februanj  ISth,  1823. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  B — , 
"  The  subject  of  this  letter  will  agitate  you  in  various 
ways,  for  it  is  of  an  uncommon  kind ;  that  I  may  gi\(i 
you  the  more  particulars,  I  have  taken  a  large  sheet  of 
foolscap.  Before  I  begin,  I  must  premise,  that  before  youi- 
eyes  are  saluted  with  the  intelligence,  or  your  feelings- 
affected  by  it,  all  the  scene  which  follows  will  have  passed 
away.  Read  it  therefore,  and  converse  about  it  only  '  as 
of  a  tale  that  is  told,  or  a  shadow  that  disappeareth,  or  a 
dream  that  passeth  away  when  one  awaketh.'  I  do  not 
think  I  should  have  touched  upon  it  at  all,  considering 
what  a  sensitive  plant  you  are,  and  how  soon  any  impres- 
sion which  is  made  on  me  reaches  to  yourself, — but  that  I 
have  mentioned  it  in  some  other  of  my  letters  to  friends ; 
and  if  I  left  you  in  the  dark  about  it,  you  would  conceive 
the  most  alarming  apprehensions,  and  raise  a  thousand 
ghosts  to  haunt  your  mind  by  day  and  night.  —To  keej) 
you  no  longer  in  suspense,  therefore  : 

As  I  have  already  informed  you,  we  arrived  here  on 
Monday,  27th  of  January.  Having  sailed  from  a  port,  in 
which  the  yellow  fever  prevailed  during  the  previous  sum  ■ 
mer,  we  were  not  permitted  to  touch  the  holy  ground  of 
France  that  day ;  on  Tuesday,  the  Board  of  Health  sa! 
upon  oiu-  case,  and  mercifully  determined  (you  know  '  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel')  to  quarantine  us  {^}v 
five  and  forty  days  ! — No  French  Consular  certificates 
AV  3 1 


242 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


with  which  the  captain  had  provided  himself,  attesting  the 
health  of  his  crew  and  passengers,  and  the  city  of  New- 
York  in  general,  were  of  any  avail ;  it  was  enough  that 
the  fever  had  been  there,  and  that  we  sailed  from  the  in- 
fected city  ; — the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  were  not 
more  ii  revocable  ! 

"  Mr.  Cunningham  and  myself,  the  only  passengers, 
obtained  favour  in  their  sight,  and  concerning  us  it  was 
decreed,  that  if  we  chose  to  confine  ourselves — or  rather 
he  confined, — for  it  was  involuntary  on  our  part, — in  the 
prison  of  the  Lazarretto  for  thirty  days,  we  might  be  then 
at  hberty,  and  permitted  to  walk  upon  this  land  of  freedom. 
We  dehberated  upon  the  matter  for  a  short  time,  and  made 
choice  of  it,  on  account  of  the  shortness  of  time  it  pre- 
sented, when  compared  with  the  former  ;  and  the  next 
day,  Wednesday,  the  29th  of  January, — we  were  removed 
under  a  guard,  in  an  open  boat,  and  conducted  hither, 
where  we  still  remain  in  '  durance  vile  /'  The  same  day. 
Captain  Mason  had  to  sail  out  of  the  port  to  a  small  barren 
island  at  some  miles  distance,  cut  off  from  all  human  in- 
tercourse, tliere  to  ride  out  his  quarantine,  exposed  to  every 
wind  that  blows ;  he  is  now  moored  with  three  cables 
ahead,  and  two  astern  ! 

"  As  our  little  boat  approached  this  dreary  spot,  I  felt 
myself  inclined  to  '  play  the  woman  ;'  I  could  have  shed 
tears,  while  my  mind  ruminated  in  silence  over  the  pros- 
pect which  lay  before  us.    I  !=aid  to  myself,  'is  this  the 


BEV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  243 

reason  wliy  I  came  to  France  ?  was  it  for  this  I  left  a  com- 
fortable home,  anrl  crossed  the  mighty  deep,  to  be  incar- 
cerated in  a  French  bastile  ?' — But  I  broke  the  spell,  and 
kept  the  fountain  of  my  eyes  sealed  up  ;  I  remembered 
I  was  in  His  hands,  who  had  said  '  all  tilings  shall  work 
together  for  good,  to  them  that  love  God  — and  '  the 
very  hairs  of  your  head  arc  all  numbered  !' 

'•■\Vft  were  placed  in  a  small  apartment  five  yards 
square,  with  two  dark  chambers  leading  from  it  for  our 
bed  rooms,  about  thre3  yards  square  each  ;  the  whole  is 
exactly  on  the  plan  of  your  garret,  and  the  two  rooms 
leading  out  of  it,  only  that  our  chambers  had  no  light  but 
what  they  received  from  leaving  open  the  door.  The 
entire  was  unfurnished, — nothing  but  bare  walls,  cobweb- 
himg,  and  stained  with  the  smoke  from  an  old  fire-place, 
which  our  sitting  room  (your  garret)  alone  contained.  We 
immediately  encouraged  each  other  as  well  as  we  could, 
though  my  companion  was  considerably  chap-fallen  ;  and 
set  about  to  furnish  it  in  the  best  wny  in  our  power.  Hav- 
ing a  guard  placed  over  us,  who  watches  us  with  an 
eagle's  «ye  both  day  and  night,  and  sleeps  in  the  sitting 
room,  (for  so  I  must  call  it  for  distinction's  sake,)  we  dis- 
patched him  to  a  hotel,  so  called,  (where  all  our  victuals 
are  prepared;  it  is  within  the  prison  walls  ;)  and  ordered 
furniture :  we  received  a  deal  table,  and  two  old  chairs, 
all  of  which  appeared  to  have  been  used  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  building — 1667 — and  three  or  four  deal  planks 
to  sleep  on.  with  two  iron  bearers  to  carry  them ;  however, 


■M4  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

as  this  promised  very  hard  fare  for  sleeping  accommodations, 
we  afterwards  procured  for  money  (for  any  thing  can  be 
liad  even  here  for  money)  two  sacking  bottoms  and  frames, 
much  hke  your  cots ;  we  had  the  precaution  to  bring  beds 
and  bedding  from  the  ship,  Captain  Mason  having  kindly 
ofi'ered  the  privilege,  and  thus  we  escaped  the  company  of 
those  midnight  vermin,  with  which  similar  articles  in  this 
place  abound.  Having  thus  furnished  our  apartments,  (which, 
by  the  bye,  have  cold  brick  floors,  both  sitting  room  and 
bed  chambers.)  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  side-board, 
or  rather  to  our  little  three  shelved  cupboard,  which  stands 
on  the  right  of  the  fire-place,  and  is  the  only  fixture  in  the 
room,  except  two  pieces  of  iron  let  into  the  hearth-stone, 
by  way  of  andirons.  This  we  furnished  with  two  tea 
cups  and  saucers,  two  or  three  white  plates,  a  couple  of 
knives  and  forks  and  spoons,  a  salt  and  a  pepper  cellar, 
and  a  candlestick,  all  of  earthenware,  except  the  knives, 
(fcc.  We  also  obtained  an  earthen  jug  in  which  we  boil  our 
Avater  for  tea,  and  a  smaller  one  to  serve  for  a  cream  eicer — 
rather  a  milk  pot — but  which  necessity  obliges  us  to  con- 
vert to  sundry  other  purposes,  such  as  boiling  our  icashing 
dishes  water,  serving  as  a  shaving  mug,  &.c.  &c. 

I  believe  I  have  given  you  a  list  of  our  furnitme  in 
all  its  departments  ;  necessity,  however,  the  mother  of  in- 
vention, compelled  us  to  increase  this  inventory  by  several 
little  articles,  which  we  manufactured  at  our  leisure :  such 
ns  a  pair  of  snuffers,  by  a  piece  of  wood  prepared  in  the 
form  of  a  clothes  peg, — this  we  use  by  pressing  the  open 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


245 


ends  together  :  a  set  of  fire  irons,  by  two  sticks,  which  serve 
eitiier  as  pokers,  when  used  separately,  or  tongs,  when 
held  in  eacli  hand,  and  applied  together,  &c.  &c. ;  in  short, 
we  l)ave  found  out  many  improvements  in  housekeeping, 
which  may  benefit  us  in  after  life. — Our  mode  of  living 
would  amuse  you,  were  you  behind  a  curtain,  and  observ- 
ing us ;  our  dinner,  we  receive  from  the  hotel — whatever 
we  order, — but  our  breakfast  and  tea  we  make  ourselves. 
Our  tea-table  is  spread  much  as  follows :  a  wliite  teacup,  and 
saucer,  and  spoon,  on  each  side  ;  a  plate  with  butter,  and 
a  plate  to  hold  the  loaf,  stand  at  the  extreme  end  ;  a  salt 
seller  occupies  the  middle  spot,  to  season  tlie  butter,  which 
would  be  othenvise  unpalatable ; — a  blue  paper  is  then 
opened  and  laid  on  the  table,  containing  our  sugar,  and 
a  similar  one  opposite  to  it,  with  our  tea ;  — a  couple  of 
knives  complete  the  whole.  Having  taken  our  seats,  and 
thus  put  into  requisition  every  article  in  the  room,  we  take 
each  a  spoonful  of  tea,  and  putting  it  into  our  cups  (having 
no  tea-pot  to  draw  it  in)  pour  the  water  on  it,  &c.  &c. 
using  our  fingers  for  sugar  tongs  and  other  things,  as  like 
need  requires :  and  I  do  assure  you,  I  have  made  many 
a  pleasant  meal  within  these  walls,  and  felt  a  grateftil 
heart  I 

"  You  will  excuse  the  pleasantness  of  the  manner  ih 
which  I  have  described  these  things  ;  it  is  not  my  usual 
style,  but  I  feared  you  would  droop  under  the  view  of  our 
privations,  had  I  chosen  any  other,  We  know  not  yet 
what  the  expense  may  be  for  each  of  us,  but  we  suppose 

TV  2 


246 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


it  may  be  about  ten  dollars  a  week  !  Enough — and  to 

spare  ! 

I  shall  now  give  you  an  account  of  the  caution  with 
which  our  intercourse  with  our  guard  and  others  is  carried 
on.  Everyone,  you  must  know,  views  us  as  infected  with 
the  yellow  fever,  and  acts  accordingly  ;  if  any  have  to  pas^ 
us  by,  they  take  the  windward  side,  for  "  our  very  breath 
breathes  pestilence  !"  If  we  have  occasion  to  send  a  letter  to 
town,  to  any  of  those  friends  to  whom  we  were  introduced 
from  New- York,  it  is  received  from  us,  by  a  long  paii-  of 
tongs,  held  by  a  man  at  full  stretch ;  this  letter,  he  plunges 
in  a  vessel  of  vinegar,  till  it  is  thoroughly  soaked,  and  for  fear 
of  contagion  inclosed,  he  pierces  it  through  with  four  holes 
by  a  mallet  and  a  sharp  iron  applied  to  it  on  a  block  ;  it  is 
then  fit  for  use,  and  is  despatched  accordingly.  Indeed,  if 
you  would  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  abhorrence  connected 
with  our  persons,  and  the  distance  observed  by  every  one 
who  spies  us  in  his  path,  you  will  best  conceive  it  by 
remembering  the  treatment  of  lepers  under  the  Jewish 
law.    A  rattlesnake  is  not  more  shunned  than  we  ! 

"  When  we  first  came  here,  our  restrictions  were  mucli 
greater  than  at  present ;  we  were  confined  to  a  Avalk  in 
front  of  our  cell,  which  is  eighty-seven  yards  long  by  four 
wide  ;  up  and  down  this,  I  generally  exercised  myself  in 
promenading  eighty  times  a  day,  equal  to  eight  miles,- 
this  I  perform  at  four  times;  to  this  little  space  we  wei< 
conlined  for  the  first  fifteen  days ;  thi^  expired  the  daj 


i 

REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD.  247 

before  yesterday.  We  are  now  allowed  a  much  larger 
field  of  action,  though  still  not  without  the  accompaniment 
of  our  guard.  After  we  had  been  six  days  in  confinement, 
we  were  closeted  in  our  little  cell,  and  stoved  with  burning 
brimstone,  similar  to  the  mode  of  destroying  bugs  !  I 
thought  I  should  have  been  sufllbcated  ;  I  flew  to  the  door 
for  air,  but  it  was  held  by  an  officer  outside  ; — it  threw  me 
into  a  paroxysm  of  coughing,  which  shook  me  to  my 
heart's  core — but,  thank  God,  it  had  no  worse  conse- 
quences. In  nine  days  more,  namely,  the  fifteenth  of 
our  confinement,  we  underwent  a  second  stoving  in  the 
same  way,  together  with  all  our  clothes,  trunks,  &c.  every 
article  being  spread  upon  lines  drawn  across  our  sitting 
room  ; — after  this,  finding  no  spots,  black,  blue,  green,  or 
yellow,  to  break  out  upon  us,  we  were  considered  as  half 
cleansed,  and  had  our  promenade  privileges  extended  ac- 
cordingly. I  beUeve  we  are  only  to  have  one  other  appU- 
cation  of  the  fumes  of  brimstone,  namely,  on  the  day  of 
our  departure ;  this  1  shall  look  upon  as  a  genteel  turn  out — 
but  whether  after  so  much  smoking  we  shall  leave  the 
place  sioeeter  than  we  entered  it,  is  a  matter  very  doubtful 
with  me. 

'•  Amidst  it  all,  I  enjoy  my  health  excellently  well,  and 
nil  up  my  time  by  writing  and  reading  several  hours  a 
day  ;  added  to  this,  the  exercise  of  making  up  my  bed- 
i  hamber,  sweeping  the  rooms  with  a  birch  broom,  making 
ihe  fire,  boiling  our  earthen  kettles,  preparing  breakfast, 
vl'c.  <fcc.  and  wTiting  to  my  friend? — altogether,  makes  mv 


248 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


time  go  pleasantly  along,  nor  was  my  flow  of  spirits  ever 
better  in  my  life. 

"  We  have  a  little  Catholic  Chapel  at  the  end  of  our 
promenade,  and  here  I  find  seasons  of  retirement  for  con- 
versing with  Him  who  seeth  in  secret,  and  knows  my 
situation  in  all  its  secret  parts — ^with  Him  who  directs  all 
things,  and  does  all  things  well ; — and  here,  though  pros- 
trated before  a  crucifix,  and  a  host  of  images,  calculated  to 
sink  the  soul  to  earth's  inmost  centre,*  I  enjoy  that  fellow- 

*  In  a  long  letter  to  his  valued  friend,  Dr.  Baker,  dated  five 
days  earlier  than  tlie  one  cited  above,  occurs  the  following  pas- 
sage in  reference  to  his  devotional  exercises  in  the  little  chapel 
alluded  to  : — "I  often  feel  at  a  loss  to  say,  '  whether  in  the  body 
or  out  of  the  body  !'  I  had  a  sweet  season  there  this  morning, 
and  I  find  my  hour  is  again  drawing  nigh— there  I  will  remem- 
ber you  and  yours,  and  not  only  praise  on  your  account,  but 
strive  io pray  that  you  may  be  'overwhelmed  with  all  ^is weight 
of  love  .''  Oh,  this  weight  of  love.  It  was  this  which  constrained 
our  Fletcher  to  cry  out,  '  Lord,  hold  back !— forbear  thy  hand !' 
He  feared  the  vessel  would  break ;  but  will  you  not  permit  me 
rather  to  say,  '  Lord,  expand  the  capacity,  enlarge  the  measure, 
make  Thyself  room, — and  fill — fill — fill  the  holy  and  the 
holiest  place,  till  all  their  souls  be  love  .''  Amen  and  Amen 
How  ardent  were  his  spiritual  aspirations  in  this  little  oratory  ! 
And  with  what  interesting  associations  do  we  recognize  this  de- 
voted preacher,  while  here  excluded  from  the  city  on  suspicion 
of  being  infected,  manifesting  that  entire  consecration  of  him?el{ 
to  God,  which  is  said  to  have  characterized    Marseilles'  good 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIF.LD. 


249 


ship  with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  which 
the  world  knows  nothing  of.  There,  also,  I  remember 
each  of  you  by  name,  from  my  dear  parent  down  to  Arme — 
and  oh,  how  sweet  those  moments  are  !  I  trust  you  all 
remember  me.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  soon  be  restored 
to  you  all  in  health  of  body  and  vigour  of  mind — to  part  no 
more,  till  death  shall  do  his  office. 
'•  Farewell,  ray  dear  James. 

"  Ever  affectionately  yours, 

"  J.  SUMMERFIELD." 

The  following  extreict  is  from  a  letter  addressed  by  Mr. 
Summerfield  to  a  young  man,  a  near  and  dear  relative, 
who  had  imbibed  sentiments,  or  perhaps  rather  adopted  a 
course  of  conduct,  unhappily  but  too  prevalent  with  many, 
Avhose  immature  talents  are  so  sharpened  by  unholy  dispu- 
tation, that  they  find  it  indifferently  easy  to  defend  or  op- 
pose religious  doctrines. 

''Marseilles,  Uth  February,  1823, 

 '•  Permit  me  to  warn  you  of  one  rock  on  which 

many  have  split,  and  round  which  you  often  delight  to 
play— I  mean  the  arguing  against  that  which  you  (not- 
withstanding) beUeve  to  be  true  in  its  nature,  and  that  en- 

Bishop,"  who  remained  so  heroically  with  his  people  during  the 
great  plagiie,  that  he  is  poetically  said  to  have  drawn 

"  purer  breath, 

When  Nature  sickened,  and  the  gale  was  death !" 
32 


250 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


tirely  for  the  love  of  opposition.  You  may  think  yourself 
safe,  and  smile  at  tlie  concern  wliich  you  have  thereby 
caused  to  your  opponent — you  may  think,  '  I  have  done  no 
harm,  I  firmly  believe  that  you  are  right,  though  I  have 
taken  the  opposite  side  for  the  sake  of  argument' — but  I  do 
assure  you,  and  experience  will  prove  it  to  be  too  true,  that 
this  disposition  indulged  in,  will  so  put  you  upon  seeking 
out  objections  to  those  doctrines  which  you  inwardly  ac- 
knowledge, that  in  a  short  time  you  will  have  per- 
suaded yourself  into  the  belief  that  they  are  mightier  than 
the  evidence  of  truths  which  you  have  not  yet  been  equally 
careful  to  collect,  and  which  you  begin  to  think  you  re- 
ceived from  the  prejudice  of  your  nurse,  or  of  education  ; — 
this  will  lead  to  the  preferring  error  to  truth,  although  in 
time  you  may  appear  to  be  sincere  in  this  preference,  and 
please  yourself  with  thinking  you  have  equally  weighed 
both  sides,  and  given  an  impartial  decision  ;  the  old  adage 
will  nevertheless  be  found  correct,  that  '  truth  lies  at  the 
bottom  of  the  well' ; — it  may  be  covered  with  error  and 
ignorance,  which  are  always  found  near  the  surface. 

"  To  bring  these  general  remarks  to  a  particular  bearing, 
let  me  intreat  you  first  of  all  to  satisfy  yourself  of  the  Divine 
origin  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  if  indeed  you  have  any 
serious  doubts  thereon.  Its  evidences  flow  in  upon  you 
with  a  flood  of  Ught,  if  you  seriously  connect  prayer  to  the 
Father  of  Lights  for  his  superintendence  and  direction.  As 
to  human  productions,  I  recommend  to  you  the  first  volume 
of  Home's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 


KEV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


251 


♦fcc.  <fcc.  Having  ascertained  the  Bible  to  be  the  Word  of 
I  God,  you  should  implicitly  obey  all  its  contents.  Your 
belief  should  not  be  rendered  easy  or  difficult  by  the  pro- 
babiUty  or  improbability  of  the  subject,  by  its  plainness  or 
its  abstruseness — but  be  always  simply  determined  by  the 
authority  of  the  Revealer — '  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it,'  therefore  I  receive  this  doctrine^  and  credit  that 
fact.  This  obtains  even  with  regard  to  human  testimony  ; 
I  and  if  we  believe  the  testimony  of  men  of  undoubted  in- 
I  tegrity  and  truth,  the  testimony  of  God  is  greater.  To 
believe  no  more  of  God,  or  of  His  Word,  or  of  His  works, 
than  we  can  comprehend,  or  reduce  to  some  of  our  modes 
of  knowledge,  is  not  to  honour  the  authority  of  God  at  all ! — 
yea,  'tis  actually  a  reflection  on  His  wisdom  and  veracity — 
on  His  wisdom,  as  if  He  could  tell  us  no  more  than  we 
know — on  His  veracity,  as  if  He  were  not  to  be  trusted  if 

He  could.    In  short,  my  dear  ,  the  word  of  God  is 

not  matter  of  opinion  or  speculation,  when  its  divine  authen- 
ticity is  ascertained  ; — it  is  judgement — settled  laic — decided 
truth; — it  reveals  in  the  way  of  judgement,  or  decision,  that 
man  is  fallen,  is  in  danger  of  hell-fire,  and  can  only  be 
saved  through  the  sacrificial  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  co-equal 
and  eternal  with  the  Father  !  It  is  useless  to  oppose  these 
truths — ih&y must  be  submitted  to; — the  Gospel  commands, 
not  proposes — it  must  be  obeyed  !  '  Repent,  and  believe 
the  Gospel !'  May  God  speak  this  word  to  you  v.ith 
power  I'' 


On  the  27th  of  February,  Mr.  Summerfield  was  allowed 


252 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


to  leave  the  Lazaretto,  "  in  good  healtli  and  with  a  giate- 
ful  heart."  In  a  letter  to  his  father,  he  says,  "  My  mind 
was  not  free  from  uneasiness  on  this  subject  during  the 
whole  time  of  my  confinement ;  for  if  I  had  been  taken 
unwell  in  any  way,  I  could  have  had  no  reUef,  but  by 
being  sent  to  the  Hospital ;  and  any  complaint  with  which 
I  might  have  been  afflicted  would  have  been  regarded  so 
suspiciously  as  a  sprout  of  yellow  fever,  that  the  time  of  qua- 
rantine would  have  been  prolonged,  and  my  fellow  passen- 
ger would  have  suffered  in  the  same  proportion." 

[To  HIS  BROTHER  WiLLIAM.] 

"Marseilles,  March  1st,  1823. 
"  I  have  been  too  short  a  time  at  liberty  to  say  an} 
thing  of  the  country ;  what  little  I  have  seen  is  not  pre- 
possessing :  you  will  not  expect  that  /  should  view  it  very 
minutely  in  any  of  its  bearings  but  those  which  are  con- 
nected with  a  rehgious  point  of  view  :  on  this  subject,  the 
scene  is  awful !  If  the  jest  were  not  too  serious  a  one, 
some  christian  Diogenes  might  parade  the  streets  of  Mar- 
seilles at  noon  day,  with  a  lighted  taper  in  his  hand,  in 
quest  of  one  religious  man  !  I  dare  not  enter  into  particu- 
lars,— that  must  be  matter  of  conversation  when  we  meet." 

"  I  am  as  anxious  to  arrive  at  Paris,  as  I  am  to  quit  Mar- 
seilles ;  I  received  a  letter  from  there  yesterday,  which  may 
.  be  compared  to  one  of  those  dehghtful  resting  places, 
Avhose  freshness  meets  the  longing  eye,  and  satisfies  the 
wearied  limbs  of  wayworn  travellers  amid  the  burning 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


253 


sands  of  the  desert  of  Zaara :  I  expect  to  write  to  some 
of  you  from  tliat  city.  Meantime,  with  kind  remembran- 
ces to  each  and  all  of  you, 

"  I  am,  my  dear  William, 

"  ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

"JOHN." 

[To  HIS  BROTHER  WiLLIAM.] 

"  Jlarseilles,  .March  SOth,  1823. 
"  This  city  is  the  most  ancient  in  France,  having  been 
built  600  years  B.  C,  which  brings  it  to  150  years  after 
(he  building  of  Rome.  It  was  founded  by  a  colony  from 
the  ancient  city  of  Phocia  in  Ionia,  and  its  inhabitants  are 
still  proud  to  preserve  their  original  name  of  Phocians  ; — 
its  importance  increjised  so  rapidly,  that  it  soon  became  an 
illy  of  the  Romans, — an  honour  not  allowed  to  every  ap- 
jlicant  for  that  distinguished  privilege. 

"  The  arts  and  sciences  appear  to  have  flourished  here, 
is  much  as  military  accomplishments,  if  the  ancient  motto 
)f  the  city  be  to  be  depended  upon  ;  it  reads  thus  in  Eng- 
ish, — in  which  language  I  prefer  to  give  it  to  you,  as  I 
!o  not  know  that  you  pretend  to  much  knowledge  in 
''rench — '  Massilia,  the  davghter  of  the  Phocians — the  sister 
f  Rome — the  terror  of  Carthage,  the  rival  of  Athens.^ — So 
luch  concerning  its  ancient  splendour.  Its  modem  ap- 
earance  makes  a  very  soiTy  figure  in  the  contrast ; — for 
Ithough  Strabo,  the  ancient  geographer,  speaks  of  it  as 
06  of  the  most  superb  cities  in  his  time,  no  traces  what- 


254 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


ever  are  to  be  found  of  its  former  grandeur ;  all  that 
remains  even  of  its  antiquity  that  I  have  seen,  are  a  feW 
columns  of  an  ancient  temple  of  Diana,  which  now  form 
some  of  the  buttresses  of  a  modem  temple  of  Mary,  the 
wife  of  Joseph  the  carpenter.  There  are  also  some  old 
columns,  standing  outside  the  city  upon  a  site  once  occu- 
pied by  a  temple  of  Apollo,  but  which  have  not  been  con- 
secrated to  any  modem  deity, — I  suppose  the  partiahty  of 
the  catholics  runs  in  favour  of  women,  and  the  transition 
was  not  great  between  Diana  and  Mary,  whom  they  have 
put  in  her  stead ;  indeed,  nothing  is  to  be  seen  in  their 
temples  throughout  the  city  but  shrines  for  the  devotees  of 
the  modern  goddess. 

"  I  have  remarked  that  these  are  the  only  remains  I 
have  met  with  of  the  antiquity  of  this  city ;  and  of  its 
splendour  and  former  magnificence,  I  have  discovered  none. 
So  long  as  it  remained  a  free  city,  such  as  Hamburg,  Bre- 
men, &c.,  I  believe  it  flourished  beyond  any  other  co- 
temporary  ;  but  subjugated  as  it  now  is  to  royal  authority, 
it  presents  the  same  contrast  with  its  former  greatness, 
which  those  cities  present  with  their  neighbours  in  the 
petty  states  and  sovereignties  by  which  they  are  surround- 
ed. Marseilles  first  lost  its  liberties  in  the  close  of  the 
twelfth  or  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  1226, 
the  citizens  repurchased  it,  and  maintained  it  with  all  that 
spirit  which  liberty  inspires,  against  the  Counts  of  Pro- 
vence, &.C.,  till  the  time  of  Louis  the  14th,  when  that 
mighty  monarch  brought  them  tmder  the  yoke,  deprived 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


255 


them  of  all  their  ancient  rights  and  Uberties,  and  fenced 
them  in  with  fortresses  and  citadels,  which  yet  remain  the 
wonder  of  the  present  day.  This  was  in  1660,  ever  since 
which  time  it  has  languished  under  the  weight  of  royal 
imposts,  (fee.  So  that  you  can  hardly  decide  whether  it  is 
a  living  or  a  dying  city.  Its  harbour  is  the  only  source  of 
its  present  importance  in  the  scale  of  French  cities,  in 
which  it  ranks  the  fourth — Paris,  Lyons,  Bourdeaux,  and 
Marseilles,  being  the  order  in  which  they  are  classed  ; 
its  population  is  from  120  to  130,000  inhabitants. 

"  In  the  year  1720,  the  plague  was  imported  from 
the  Levant, — and  most  terribly  it  ravaged  the  whole 
province  of  Provence  ;  in  this  city  alone  it  slew  from 
fifty  to  sixty  thousand  uihabitants.  This  is  the  rea- 
son of  the  severe  quarantine  to  wliich  I  have  been  sub- 
jected, and  may  in  a  great  measure  plead  the  excuse  for 
that  barbarity.  The  narrow  lanes  of  this  city — for  streets 
they  are  not, — and  the  high  houses,  five  or  six  stories, 
every  apartment  of  which  contains  perhaps  an  entire 
family,  would  aflbrd  fine  riot  for  that  dreadful  disease, 
should  it  again  obtain  admission  :  I  speak  now  especially 
of  the  old  city ;  the  new  part  is  not  so  constructed. 

"  There  is  not  perhaps  within  the  Mediterranean,  so 
fine  and  secure  a  port  as  this.  It  lies  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  surrounded  by  high  hills,  so  that  no  wind,  not  even 
the  Euroclydon,  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  Acts,  and  which 
was  the  cause  of  St.  Paul's  shipwreck, — could  have  any 


256 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


effect  upon  the  vessels  that  enter  here.  The  port  is  very 
spacious,  but  the  entrance  so  narrow  that  two  ships  could 
not  pass  :  on  each  side  of  this  entrance  is  a  strong  fortifi- 
cation, which  would  render  the  place  impregnable  ; — they 
are  the  work  of  Louis  the  14th.  There  is,  however,  one 
disadvantage  connected  with  it ;  there  is  no  river  or  stream 
flowing  into  it,  and  the  water  is  therefore  never  changed  : 
the  tide  does  not  raise  it  more  than  six  inches,  and  carries 
away  no  part  of  the  ancient  filthmess.  It  is  much  Uke 
the  Old  Dock  in  Liverpool — and  you  may  conceive  what 
that  would  he,  if  it  were  not  cleansed  at  certain  seasons  J 
this  is  worse — inasmuch  as  there  is  no  possibility  of  emit- 
ting the  old  water  :  in  the  heat  of  summer,  I  am  told  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  walk  near  it ;  mdeed,  when  we  were 
approaching  it  from  sea,  a  slight  breeze  meeting  us  from 
the  mouth  of  the  port,  conveyed  with  it  so  filt  :y  an  odoui-, 
that  1  could  scarcely  endure  to  keep  on  deck ;  and  yet, 
sweetened  as  we  were  by  the  Atlantic  breezes,  we  were 
not  thought  pure  enough  to  enter  the  cleanly  harbour  of 
this  noble  city  ! — you  see  I  cannot  forget  my  quarantine. — 
— This  is  a  busy  season  here ;  last  week  presented  strange 
sights  to  me ; — what  processions  !  what  profusion  of  lighted 
candles  carried  about  at  noon-day,  as  though  to  put  out 
the  sun's  glare  with  their  superior  splendour  !  what  saints 
on  canvass  and  wooden  angels  did  I  not  behold  !  what 
ridiculous  dresses  did  the  priests  assume !  what  singing, 
sighing,  shouting,  in  every  part  of  this  christian  city 
during  the  solemnities  of  the  Passion  week ! — and  then 
on  Good  Friday, — Oh  !  my  soul  sickens — I  am  truly  sick 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


257 


at  heart !  O  Lord,  arise !  help,  and  deliver,  for  tliine  ho- 
nour !  Yes,  my  dear  WiUiam,  I  have  seen  Popery  in  its 
dress — its  finest  dress  !  May  I  live  to  see  it  in  its  nakedness 
— or  at  least  till  its  skirts  are  cut  off ! — It  must  come  down 
— the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it ! 

'And  terribly  shall  Babel  fall ! 
And  never  more  be  found  at  all !' 

But  I  forbear ;  you  will  say  I  am  running  into  my  old 
strains  ; — well, — if  they  are  old,  they  have  improved  by 
age ; — the  more  I  try  the  power  of  heart  religion,  the 
better  I  like  it.  That  my  dear  brother  may  experience  it 
in  all  its  vigour,  is  the  constcmt  prayer  of  his  affectionate 
and  sincere  friend  and  brother, 

«  JOHN." 

[to  his  youngest  sister.] 

"Marseilles,  March  30th,  1823. 

"  Mt  dear  Anne, 

"  I  have  every  disposition  to  gratify  you,  although 
the  matters  upon  which  I  may  make  observations  to  you, 
are  only  fit  for  such  little  Tarry-at-Home  travellers  as 
yourself.  If  I  were  to  detail  every  thing  which  I  meet 
with  in  the  manners  of  this  nation,  you  would  tliink  them  a 
vastly  strange  people  ;  it  is  necessary  therefore,  that  I  must 
forewarn  my  dear  Anne  against  rash  judgement  herein, 
and  caution  her  agauist  supposing  that  Enghsh  or  Ameri- 
can manners  are  any  standard  for  any  other  people  than 
EngUshmen  or  Americans.  Frenchmen  would  smile  as 
y2  33 


258 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


much  at  some  of  our  customs  as  we  do  at  theirs,  and 
indeed  go  farther,  even  looking  upon  us  as  seraibarbarians, 
in  raising  food  to  our  mouths  by  means  of  a  knife ;  they 
substitute  a  large  silver  fork  in  its  stead,  wliich  they  dex- 
terously manage  in  their  right  hand,  &c.  &c.  but  what 
of  all  this  ?  If  they  think  that  an  egg  ought  to  be  broken 
at  the  small  end  first,  and  lec  think  it  should  be  at  the 
broad  end,  let  .both  parties  laugh  if  they  like,  at  each  other's 
supposed  ignorance,  without  knocking  their  heads  together. 
In  one  word,  my  dear  Anne  must  ever  consider  that  cus- 
tom is  arbitrary, — that  is,  as  any  people  may  choose  for 
themselves  ; — and  except  it  opposes  the  laws  of  nature,  or 
the  settled  and  prescribed  rule  of  the  oracles  of  God,  we 
have  no  right  to  condemn  it. 

"  What,  for  instance,  would  you  tliink,  if  you  saw  the 
lower  class  of  Frenchmen  wearing  wooden  shoes,  and 
horse  cloth  stockings  drawn  over  their  pantaloons  half  wa}' 
above  the  knee  ?  and  yet  I  see  this  every  day.  Or  again, 
what  would  you  think  if  you  saw  the  women  acting  as 
porters  to  carry  loads,  &c.  while  the  men  are  lounging 
about  or  sitting  under  a  sunny  wall  side  ?  and  yet  you 
would  see  groups  of  thirty  or  forty  at  many  parts  of  the 
city,  with  great  baskets,  &c.  waiting  to  be  hired.  Al- 
though both  these  examples  which  I  have  given  do  not 
recommend  themselves  as  any  improvement  upon  our  own 
habits,  yet  there  are  some  others  in  which  the  French 
appear  to  have  the  advantage.  For  instance,  great  com- 
plaint is  made  in  New- York  respecting  the  adulteration  of 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


259 


mUk,  and  lacrometers  have  been  invented  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  the  fraud  ;  but  here  it  is  effectually  prevented  ; 
the  milkman  or  woman  brings  the  cow  to  your  door,  and 
there  milks  her  for  the  quantity  you  take,  going  round 
witli  her  in  the  same  way  to  aU  the  customers.  The 
greater  part  of  the  milk,  however,  is  obtained  from  goats, 
and  truly  they  are  the  finest  breed  I  ever  saw :  we  have 
nothing  hke  them  m  America.  They  are  very  large,  and 
their  fine  shaggy  hair  reaches  almost  to  the  gromid  ;  these 
are  brought  into  tliis  city  in  companies  of  ten  or  twelve 
under  one  person,  and  this  every  morning ;  they  know 
their  rounds  so  well,  that  the  herdsman  has  no  trouble,  and 
they  go  tinkling  along  with  their  Uttle  bells  about  their 
necks,  and  stand  at  the  doors  where  they  are  accustomed 
to  be  milked.  They  are  so  docile,  that  the  keeper  has 
only  to  call  the  one  by  name  that  he  wishes  to  milk,  and 
the  httle  creature  skips  upon  the  steps  and  wags  her  tail, 
as  if  proud  to  be  thus  picked  out  from  her  companions, 
who  stand  by  all  the  while,  till  the  operation  is  performed. 
They  are  not  timid  hke  sheep ;  for  if  a  dog — no  matter 
how  large,  comes  near  them,  they  run  at  him  with  their 
horns,  and  if  he  does  not  make  the  best  of  his  way  from 
them,  he  wiU  come  off  with  the  worst  of  it. — Again,  the 
industry  of  the  lower  and  middUng  classes  of  women  is 
much  more  than  the  same  in  America  ;  (how  it  is  witli 
the  higher  classes  I  do  not  know,  but  I  suppose  they  are 
much  the  same  as  their  kind  all  the  world  over ;)  youwUl 
see  these  same  female  porters  I  spoke  of  before,  employing 
their  time  in  knitting,  till  they  have  a  job,  and  it  would  do 


260 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


you  good  to  see  them  squatting  down  on  thek  baskets  as 
busy  as  bees  ; — those  in  the  middling  class,  who  come  to 
market,  to  sell  their  little  farm  productions,  (for  observe 
this  is  all  done  by  women,)  are  busy  knitting  all  the  way, 
riding  upon  their  ass  or  mule  upon  the  market  panniers ; 
indeed  this  is  their  only  mode  of  conveyance,  as  very  few 
horses  are  to  be  seen  in  this  part  of  the  country.  I  have 
often  been  deUghted  with  these  signs  of  industry :  if  a 
woman  is  carrying  a  load  upon  her  head,  her  hands  are 
not  dangUng  by  her  side,  but  she  knits  as  she  trudges  on  ; 
if  she  is  drivuig  home  the  market-cart,  sitting  on  the  front 
ridge,  you  see  her  employed  in  making  bass  mats  all  the 
way ;  and  even  if  you  stop  to  talk  with  one,  she  will  be 
working  all  the  time  she  is  talking  with  you.  Surel)'^  iai 
these  respects,  although  in  other  matters  we  may  smile, 
we  might  learn  a  useful  lesson  for  our  feir  ones  in  Ame- 
rica.— BeUeve  me,  my  dear  child,  ever  your  affectionate 
friend  and  brother, 

"  JOHN.^' 

Such  was  the  style  of  elegant  playfulness,  in  which  liis 
affectionate  mind  condescended  to  indulge  for  the  purpose 
of  beguiling  that  anxiety,  which  his  absence,  under  such 
peculiar  circumstances,  created  in  the  family  circle.  His 
soul,  however,  was  entirely  absorbed  in  the  grand  purpose 
of  his  life — "  If  there  is  a  scene  within  the  universe  of 
God,  (says  he  in  a  letter  from  Marseilles,)  calculated  to  hft 
our  minds  to  heaven, — if  there  is  a  scene  calculated  to 
bring  down  the  heavenly  host  to  earth, — ^it  is  that  which 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELO. 


261 


pourtrays  iii  anticipation,  the  final  triumph  of  the  *  Gospel 
of  the  Grace  of  God  ;'  yes,  the  Gospel  must  ultimately 
and  miiversally  triumph  !  well  may  we  exclaim,  '  what  au 
object  is  this  !'  It  is  the  fairest  scene  which  the  pencil  of 
heaven,  dipt  in  the  colours  of  its  own  rainbow,  can  deline- 
ate ;  and  even  the  great  voice,  issuing  from  the  eternal 
throne,  can  utter  nothing  more  exhilarating  and  sublime, 
than  the  consummation  of  this  event, — '  Behold  the  taber- 
nacle of  God  is  ^vith  men  !' " 


262 


MEMOIES  OF  THE 


SECTION  XIV. 

Writes  to  the  Young  MerCs  Missionary  Society — Paris — 
Speech  at  the  meeting  of  the  Protestant  Bible  Society  of 
France — Reply  of  Mons.  Billing — Letters. 

The  reader  is  already  aware,  that  besides  the  quest  of 
health  in  a  more  mild  and  salubrious  climate,  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  visit  to  France  was  as  the  bearer  of  the  official 
congratulations  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  of  wliich 
he  was  a  Director.  He  had  hkewise  been  solicited,  pre- 
viously to  liis  embarkation,  to  draw  up  the  Annual  Report 
of  the  New- York  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  of 
which  he  was  President.  This  he  consented  to  do,  in  the 
prospect  of  having  much  time  on  his  hands  during  the 
voyage.  Contrary,  liowever,  to  the  expectations  of  all  par- 
ties, they  made  the  passage  so  quickly,  and  the  motion  of 
the  ship  was  so  great,  that  he  was  prevented  from  accom- 
plishing his  design.  Instead  of  the  Report,  he  transmitted 
from  Marseilles,  under  date  of  February  20,  1823,  a  very 
pleasing  letter,  which  was  read  at  the  current  amii- 
versary  in  John-street  Church,  on  the  evening  of  the  21st 
of  April.  Those  who  were  present  on  that  occasion  will 
not  soon  forget  the  impression  which  the  encouraging  words 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


263 


of  one  so  dear  to  them — spoken  as  they  were  from  "  a  far 
country,"'  and  under  such  peculiar  circumstances — made  on 
the  minds  and  the  hearts  of  the  meeting.* 

On  the  5th  of  April,  Mr.  Summerfield  arrived  in  Paris, 
[via  Lyons,)  after  a  fatigiiing  journey  of  six  days  and 
nights — his  health,  on  the  whole,  but  very  Uttle,  if  at  aU, 
improved.  On  the  16th,  the  Anniversary  of  the  Protestant 
Bible  Society  of  France  was  held  in  Paris.  On  tliis  occa- 
sion, the  address  which  he  had  prepared,  and  which  had 
been  translated  into  French  by  the  Dutchess  de  Broghe, 
was  delivered  by  Mr.  WUder  ;  the  author's  diffidence  of  his 
ability  to  speak  elegantly  a  language,  in  which,  neverthe- 
less, he  was  a  proficient,  deterred  him  from  pronouncing  it 
himself. 

The  following  is  the  address.  It  was  pubfished  in  the 
American  papers  as  a  translation,  {from  a  translation;)  I 
suspect,  however,  that  it  is  the  original : — 

"  My  Lord — It  is  with  unaffected  humility  that  I  rise 
to  address  you  upon  a  subject  which  has  now  become  too 
vast  for  human  description,  and  far  removed  above  the 
eulogy  of  human  praise.  The  Bible  Cause  has  attained 
such  a  glorious  lustre,  that  it  is  hke  a  mirror  polished  by 


*  This  address  is  printed  in  the  Fourth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  New- York,  1823. 


264 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


the  hand  of  heaven,  and  the  breath  of  the  earth-bom  worm 
who  attempts  to  point  out  its  beauties,  rather  sullies  than 
correctly  delineates  them.  Still,  humiliating  as  this  con- 
sideration is,  and  strange  as  the  paradox  may  appear,  we 
approach  it  with  a  degree  of  confidence,  for  the  very  reason 
that  it  is  the  Bible  Cause,  firmly  persuaded,  that  although 
no  tongue  is  adequate  to  the  description,  yet  it  cannot 
suffer  in  the  weakest  hands  ;  for  the  testimony  concerning 
it  is  BO  supremely  excellent,  as  to  dignify  any  kind  of  lan- 
guage ui  which  it  may  be  conveyed. 

"  I  have  the  honour,  my  Lord,  to  represent  upon  this 
occasion  the  American  Bible  Society,  by  whom  I  have  been 
delegated,  to  congratulate  the  Sister  Society  of  France  on 
her  past  success,  and  to  assure  her,  that  the  place  which 
she  holds  in  the  sympathies  and  affections  of  her  elder 
Sister  in  the  West,  is  second  to  none  !  I  would  that 
another  and  a  worthier  Representative  had  been  chosen, 
or  that  my  head  were  frosted  with  the  winters  of  threescore 
and  ten,  that  weight  of  years  might  have  combined  with 
the  warmth  and  zeal  of  youth,  to  express  the  ardency  of 
her  affection  and  esteem  ;  but  since,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
I  am  what  I  am,  I  dared  not  suffer  any  consideration  of  the 
weakness  of  the  creature,  to  interfere  with  the  promise  of 
Him,  who  '  out  of  weakness  can  make  strong,  and  call 
forth  things  that  are  not,  as  though  they  were.' 

"The  statement  which  has  been  read  has  briefly 
sTcetched  the  leading  outlines  of  the  last  Report  of  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


265 


American  Bible  Society ;  and  yet,  exalted  as  must  be  the 
views  of  all  who  heard  it,  concerning  her  great  success.  I 
am  proud  to  say,  that  were  your  Lordship  to  visit  our 
happy  shore,  you  would  find  cause  to  exclaim  with  the 
queen  of  the  South,  when  beholding  the  glory  of  Solo- 
mon— '  the  half  was  not  told  me  !'  Truly,  my  Lord,  '  the 
word  of  God  has  free  course  among  us' — '  it  runs,' — it  out- 
strips the  wind — '  and  it  is  glorified  !'  Opposition,  which 
for  a  time  shewed  its  hideous  shape,  and  Proteus-like,  as- 
sumed another  and  another  form,  has  now  quitted  the 
field — or,  if  objectors  still  remain,  they  are  hke  the  scat- 
tered firagments  of  a  broken  enemy,  hanging  on  the  care- 
less outskirts  of  the  victorious  army  by  whom  they  have 
been  conquered,  for  the  mere  purpose  of  teasing  by  cow- 
ardly and  fruitless  annoyance  those  whom  they  cannot 
overcome.  Every  anniversary  is  with  us  a  jubilee  ;  we 
then  indent  another  and  another  to  the  thousand  triumphs 
with  which  the  monument  of  its  far-spread  fame  is 
covered ! 

There  was  a  phrase,  my  Lord,  in  the  statement  I 
allude  to,  with  respect  to  America,  to  which  I  would  offer 
a  brief  remark.  You  have  been  pleased  to  style  it  a^rec 
(  ountry; — it  is  so ; — but,  my  Lord,  the  liberty  which  reigns 
there  is  not  pecuhar  to  America  ;  it  is  the  privilege  of  king- 
doms as  well  as  republics — and  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  '  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all,'  has  demon- 
strated, that  the  more  the  people  are  acquainted  with  the 
sacredness  of  the  relation  in  which  they  stand  'to  the 
z  34 


266 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


powers  which  be,  and  which  are  ordained  of  God,' — 
the  firmer  are  the  pillars  of  that  authority  under  which 
they  are  governed  ; — this  relation  can  only  be  truly  made 
known  by  that  very  gospel  which  it  is  the  sole  object  of 
the  Bible  Society  to  disseminate.  The  bible,  my  Lord,  th( 
bible,  I  repeat  it,  is  suited  to  every  pohtical  meridian ;  to 
the  towering  spirit  of  the  high  minded  repubUcan  it  holds 
up  no  sceptre,  but  the  sceptre  of  that  monarch,  whose 
'  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  ;'  while  to  the  subjects  of 
royalty  it  proclaims  the  first  law  of  the  throne,  '  render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's.'  In  the  camp,  it 
softens  the  rage  of  war  by  the  sweet  command  of  peace, 
'  love  your  enemies  ;'  while  in  the  cabinet  it  mollifies  the 
asperity  of  national  pride,  by  that  injunction  of  eternal 
justice,  '  do  unto  all  men  as  ye  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  you.' 

"  The  report  of  the  Protestant  Bible  Society  affords  a 
pleasing  testimony,  (if  testimony  were  yet  needed,)  that 
the  Bible  Society  is  the  cause  of  God  !  I  shall  return  to 
the  land  from  whence  I  came,  with  a  heart  warmed  with 
what  I  have  seen  and  heard  to  day,  and  there,  in  a  lan- 
guage with  which  I  am  more  famiUar,  communicate  the 
glad  news,  that  in  France — notwithstanding  the  torrent  of 
infidelity  which  has  been  poured  forth  within  the  last 
thuty  years,  and  which  threatened  to  deluge  the  land — a 
spark  still  survived  which  '  many  waters  could  not  quench;' 
■ — and  that  now  there  are  more  than  '  seven  thousand  men 
who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  the  image  of  Baal !'  I 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


267 


shall  tell  them,  my  Lord,  that  in  France  there  are  men 
who,  not  affected  by  the  giddy  pinnacle  upon  which  high 
descent  and  noble  birth  have  placed  them,  have  laid  their- 
honour,  their  reputation,  their  wealth,  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  counting  it  their  greatest  honour  to  bear  '  the  burden 
and  heat'  of  this  glorious  day,  in  which  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eoosness  is  shining  in  His  strength ;  in  a  word,  my  Lord, 
I  shall  tell  them,  that  in  France  there  are  kindred  souls  to 
those  which  dwell  in  transatlantic  bosoms,  and  that  many 
a  heart  is  tuned  in  full  accordance  with  the  angel's  mes- 
sage, '  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good  will  to  men  !' 

"  Mention  has  been  made  in  your  report  of  the  decease 
of  our  lamented  Boudinot,  the  late  President  of  the  Ame- 
rican Bible  Society.  You  have  sympathized  with  us  m 
our  loss.  Although  time  has  lent  its  mellowing  hand  to 
alleviate  our  grief,  yet  still  we  mourn  !  Hr  was,  in  a  sense, 
one  of  you ;  he  became  one  of  us ;  but  God  has  put  in  His 
claim  against  us  both,  and  has  taken  him  to  himself!  He 
has  been  removed  to  a  brighter  scene,  to  a  higher  mount 
than  Pisgah's  top,  from  whence  he  may  behold  the  pro- 
gress of  that  cause  which  was  the  pabulum  of  the  last 
years  of  his  Ufe,  and  kept  him  above  the  power  of  death ! 
But  I  dare  not  trust  myself  to  enlarge  on  this  tender 
theme :  you  will  meet  him,  my  Lord,  after  you  have  ceased 
from  your  work  and  labour  of  love,  as  he  has  done  from 
his !  /,  too,  look  forward  to  that  scene  ;  till  then  I  have  no 
expectation  of  seeing  your  lordship  more,  nor  this  august 


268 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


assembly  over  whom  you  so  wortliily  preside  ;  but  there 
we  shall  meet  again  !  Oh,  that  we  may  all  be  found  faith- 
ful at  that  day,  and  counted  worthy  to  be  crowned  with 
glory,  and  honour,  and  immortality,  and  eternal  life  !  Then 
shall  we  join  the  song  of  the  redeemed,  '  unto  Him  that 
loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood, 
and  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his  Father ; 
to  Him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.' " 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  address,  which  was  received 
with  enthusiastic  applause,  Mons.  Billing,  one  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Society,  rose,  and  repUed  as  follows : — 

"  Sir, — A  more  eloquent  tongue  than  my  own  should 
have  responded  to  the  affecting  address  which  has  just  been 
read  in  your  name  by  our  beloved  colleague,  Mr.  Wilder ; 
but  the  worthy  assesseur,  who  expected  to  perform  this 
duty,  being  prevented  by  his  official  engagements  from 
attending  our  anniversary,  the  office  devolves  on  me ;  from 
this  circumstance,  you,  sir,  and  the  audience,  will  excuse 
the  brevity  and  imperfection  of  my  address. 

*'  The  Protestant  Bible  Society  of  Paris,  cannot  but  feel 
.deep  emotion,  to  see  among  the  number  of  distinguished 
characters  that  have  honoured  this  anniversary  with  their 
presence,  a  young  preacher  of  the  word  of  God,  who  has 
crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  offer  to  us  the  expression  of 
brotherly  affection  in  behalf  of  the  Bible  Society  of  the 
United  States, — a  Society,  which  from  the  immense  ter- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


269 


ritory  it  embraces,  the  number  of  its  auxiliaries,  and  the 
success  that  has  crowned  its  efforts,  occupies  one  of 
the  first  places  in  that  vast  system  which  now  encom- 
passes the  whole  globe,  and  which,  by  deriving  from  the 
wonderful  art  of  printing  every  possible  aid  for  the  dissem- 
ination of  the  bible,  promotes  the  taste  for  reading  it 
among  Christians,  and  pubUshes  it  in  their  native  tongues 
to  the  nations,  now  plunged  in  the  darkness  of  idolatry. 

"  The  sacred  scriptures  were  conveyed  to  the  shores  of 
your  continent,  by  the  nation  by  whom  it  was  first  dis- 
covered, and  in  part  conquered. — The  horrible  circumstan- 
ces, under  which  the  gospel  was  first  presented  to  the 
monarch  of  the  Mexican  empire,  we  need  not  now  call  to 
mind.  They  were  the  fruits  of  human  passions,  let  loose 
by  war.  and  by  the  thirst  for  conquest.  Let  us  beware  of 
attributing  them  to  rehgion.  The  spirit  of  genuine  Chris- 
tianity is  mUd  and  tolerant ;  it  forms  the  basis  of  civihzed 
society,  and  its  propagation  among  idolaters,  never  had, 
and  never  can  have,  permanent  success,  but  when  esta- 
blished in  a  manner  worthy  of  its  heavenly  origin. 

"  Your  happy  country,  sir,  was  peopled  by  Europeans, 
who  fled  their  native  land  to  avoid  reUgious  persecution. 
France  has  furnished  her  share  of  this  population.  You 
bring  this  to  our  recollection,  in  naming  the  pious  Boudinot, 
the  first  President  of  your  society,  to  whose  memory  we 
have  aheady  paid  a  just  tribute.  The  times  are  changed 
in  France,  as  well  as  in  England,  and,  to  speak  only  of 
z2 


270 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


our  own  country,  you  now  behold  us,  sir,  re-established  in 
all  our  rights,  civil  and  rehgious.  Under  the  sceptre  of 
the  august  dynasty,  to  which  the  destinies  of  the  kingdom 
have  been  for  so  many  ages  confided,  we  not  only  enjoy 
our  peculiar  worship  as  publicly  as  Christians  who  profess 
the  reUgion  of  the  state,  but  also  all  those  institutions 
which  spring  from  freedom  of  religious  worship,  and 
among  others,  the  one,  on  whose  anniversary  we  are  this 
day  assembled  ; — where  we  hear  what  is  doing  throughout 
the  world  for  the  increased  diffusion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  have  opportunity  of  contributing  to  it  according  to  our 
means.  The  situation  in  which  our  government  places 
us,  by  the  laws  of  the  kingdom,  is  not  less  favourable 
than  that  of  Pi  otestants  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  where 
the  Royal  Family  and  the  majority  of  the  subjects  profess 
a  different  religion,  and  in  which  the  progress  of  know- 
ledge is  not  so  far  advanced  as  in  our  own  country.  Pub- 
lic opinion,  we  dare  believe,  is  in  our  favour,  for  our  object 
is  simple  ;  it  seeks  no  concealment ;  we  discuss  our  mea- 
sures publicly ;  we  meddle  not  with  pohtical  questions. 
We  are  humble  agents  in  the  advancement  of  His  king- 
dom, who  repeatedly  declared,  '  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world,'  and  who  taught  his  disciples  to  pray  to  their  hea- 
venly Father,  '  Thy  kmgdom  come.' 

"Our  prayers,  sir,  accompany  you  to  your  country. 
May  this  voyage  have  the  happy  effect  on  your  health, 
which  you  anticipated  in  undertaking  it !  May  you  live 
long  to  exercise  the  sacred  functions  of  the  office  you  have 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD. 


271 


assumed ;  and  may  your  countrymen  realize  the  great 
expectations  excited  by  the  commencement  of  your  mi- 
nistry ! 

"  Permit  me  here  to  add  my  expressions  of  regard  for 
your  countrpnan,  Mr.  Wilder,  who  has  on  this  occasion 
presented  your  address,  and  who,  after  a  long  residence  in 
France,  is  about  to  revisit  his  native  land.  It  is  with  the 
most  lively  regret  that  we  lose  the  co-operation  of  a  man 
so  zealous  for  every  thing  that'tends  to  advance  the  inte- 
rests of  piety,  and  who  knows  how  to  proportion  his  con- 
tributions not  only  to  his  fortune,  but  to  the  wants  of  the 
niunerous  uistitutions  which  he  has  aided  us  in  forming ; 
a  christian,  in  whom  simphcity  of  manners,  and  all  the 
domestic  virtues,  are  in  harmony  with  the  doctrines  which 
he  professes  and  propagates.  In  whatever  place  he  may 
hereafter  reside,  we  assure  him  that  we  shall  ever  remem- 
ber him,  and  shall  each,  in  the  particular  sphere  in  wliich 
we  act,  strive  to  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  which  animates 
him,  and  to  imitate  his  conduct." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Doctor 
Marinus  Willett,  in  New- York,  just  before  Mr.  Summer- 
field  quitted  Paris,  will  be  interesting  in  this  place. 

"  On  Wednesday  last,  was  celebrated  the  foiu-th  anni- 
versary of  the  Protestant  Bible  Society  of  France,  and  a 
more  pleasurable  sensation  I  never  experienced  ;  no,  not 
even  in  America. — The  commission  with  which  my  bre- 


272 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


thren  in  that  country  had  honoured  me,  placed  me  in  a 
much  higher  situation  than  either  they  or  I  could  ever 
have  calculated  upon  ;  and  truly  I  was  loaded  with  '  many 
honours,'  as  St.  Paul's  phrase  is.  For  a  moment,  I  fancied 
myself  in  New- York,  and  could  not  but  dwell  upon  the 
similarity  of  my  situation  when  I  first  addressed  the  Bible 
Society  there,  and  my  present.  I  remembered  that  I  had 
just  arrived,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  unknowing  and 
unknown  ;  and  yet  from  that  very  hour,  what  friendships 
did  not  the  Providence  of  GTod  lead  me  to  form  !  friendships 
which  will  run  parallel  with  the  days  of  eternity !  Here 
I  was  in  a  land  still  more  strange,  with  whose  very  lan- 
guage I  was  not  familiar — and  yet  to  tell  you  of  those 
Christian  hearts  who  immediately  mingled  their  flames  of 
love  with  mine,  and  formed  one  common  glow,  would  be  a 
pleasing  task  indeed,  but  one,'with  the  particulars  of  which 
I  should  not  like  to  gratify  my  friend,  lest  it  might  feed  one 
latent  spark  of  that  dreadful  vice  which  was  the  condem- 
nation of  the  devil,  and  which  may  yet  remain  alive  in 
my  poor  heart,  although  I  assure  you  I  am  unconscious  of 
its  existence.  The  manner  in  which  these  anniversaries 
are  conducted  in  France,  is  far  different  from  ours — but 
the  advantage  is  greatly  on  our  side.  Such  is  the  jealousy 
of  the  Catholic  interest,  that  a  mandate  has  been  issued, 
requiring  each  speaker  to  ivrite  his  address,  in  order  to  its 
being  submitted  in  propria  foitna  to  an  inquisitorial  com- 
mittee duly  appointed  !  You  may  conceive  my  situation 
and  my  feelings ; — however,  though  thus  cramped  up  into 
the  space  of  a  nutshell,  I  compUed,  and  endeavoured  to 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


273 


prepare  something  that  might  not  be  obnoxious :  it  was 
poor  work  indeed,  ai\d  afforded  no  opportunity  for  that 
lively  discourse  which  an  unshackled  privilege  would 
have  produced.  The  Dutchess  of  BrogUe,  daughter  of  the 
late  Madame  de  Stael,  kindly  undertook  the  translation  of 
it  into  French  ;  and  at  the  time  appointed,  not  caring  to 
read  it  myself,  on  accomit  of  my  ignorance  of  the 
Parisian  accent,  as  it  is  called,  Mr.  Wilder  favoured  me 
with  Ms  services,  whilst  I  stood  beside  him  hke  a  statue. 
It  was  received  in  a  way  highly  flattering  to  my  American 
feehngs,  and  a  very  neat  address  was  dehvered  in  reply  by 
one  of  the  Secretaries." 

Notwithstanding,  however,  that  Mr.  Summerfield  was 
on  this  occasion  "flattered  even  beyond  sufferance" — to 
use  his  own  phrase — and  met  with  the  most  affectionate 
treatment  from  many  Christian  friends,  he  was  not  at  all 
in  love  with  the  French  capital.  Besides,  in  his  opinion, 
Paris  was  not  the  place  for  an  invalid ;  indeed,  he  doubted 
"  whether  a  sound  man  could  find  any  thing  hke  home  in 
it."  In  a  letter  to  his  father,  he  says  :  "  My  health  is  much 
as  when  I  last  wrote  you  ;  my  cough,  though  somewhat 
better,  yet  remains  ; — indeed,  soon  after  I  arrived  at  Mar- 
seilles, the  weather  took  an  unfavourable  turn,  and  it  has 
been  excessively  cold.  I  have  often  said,  '  Oh,  that  I  had 
the  wings  of  a  dove,  then  would  I  fly  away  to  New- York, 
and  never  think  of  seeking  a  fine  climate  in  France  again. 
I  do  not  think  that  the  weather  is  worse  with  you,  than  it 
is  at  this  very  time,  and  Paris  is  the  dampest  place  I  have 
35 


274 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


oeen  in  for  a  long  time ;  this,  with  the  keenness  of  the  air, 
is  killing — however,  I  will  not  terrify  you  by  saying  any 
more  about  it."  PoUtical  affairs,  too,  wore  a  gloomy  aspect 
in  France,  "  and  every  body,"  says  he,  "  appear  to  be 
seeking  refuge  in  their  native  land,  especially  if  they  have 
been  so  favoured  as  to  call  that  land  England  or  America." 
HappUy  for  Sunimerfield,  he  had  ties  of  kindred  in  both 
countries  ;  having  therefore  received  oflBcial  documents  for 
the  President  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  he  hastened 
to  revisit  once  more  the  land  of  his  nativity. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


276 


SECTION  XV. 

.Srmes  in  England — Fairfield — jrreaches  at  Liverpool — let- 
ters— attends  the  Conference  at  Sheffield — visits  many  other 
places — his  health  but  little  improved — letters. 

Mr.  Summerfield,  on  his  arrival  in  England,  sought  the 
Moravian  settlement  at  Fairfield,  near  Manchester,  at 
A  hii  h  place,  as  already  stated,  he  had  spent  five  happy 
(  01-  at  school,  and  where  one  of  his  uncles  continued  to 
c-ide.  Here  he  found  one  of  liis  cousins,  a  young  man 
u  enty-one  years  of  age,  lying  in  the  last  stage  of  a  con- 
umption.  Delicate  as  was  his  own  health,  he  devoted 
)ini-rlf  assiduously  to  administer  such  friendly  assistance 
ud  spiritual  consolation  to  his  dying  relative,  as  the  nature 
■{  the  case  required.  For  a  full  fortnight  he  tenderly 
matched  the  death-bed  of  his  beloved  cousin  ;  nor  did  he 
^ave  him  till  death  had  closed  liis  eyes.  It  was  the  only 
istauce,  during  his  ministry,  in  which  he  had  been  called 
pon  to  see  a  person  die,  and  his  feelings,  as  may  be  sup- 
osed,  were  exercised  a  good  deal  on  the  occasion. 

Ill  the  month  of  November,  1828,  the  writer  of  these 
ages  paid  a  visit  to  Fairfield,  in  compaijy  with  his  esteemed 


276 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


friend  Mr.  J.  Everett,  of  Manchester.     Interesting  as  this 
tranquil  retreat  of  such  an  exemplary  church  community 
as  the  United  Brethren,  must  have  been  to  the  visitors 
under  any  circumstances,  yet  on  the  present  occasion,  the 
genius  loci  derived  its  principal  charm  from  its  association 
with  the  history  of  Summerfield,  in  whose  memory  they 
felt  mutually  interested.    There  was  the  school-room,  in 
which  he  had  been  taught,  with  the  book  containing  the 
records  of  his  entry  and  departure  as  a  scholar  ;  and  a  num- 
ber of  happy  tyros  "disporting  on  the  margent  green"  of  the 
enclosure,  as  he  had  done  in  his  day.    There  was  the 
chapel  with  its  fine  organ — the  tones  of  which  he  had  so 
much  delighted  to  accompany  with  his  juvenile  voice — 
for  he  was  ever  fond  of  singing.    There,  in  one  of  the 
dwellings,  were  more  touching  memorials  of  his  later 
visit — an  engraved  likeness — the  couch  beside  which 
he  knelt,  while  reading  to,  and  praying  for  his  cousin 
Joseph — his  little  American  pocket  testament  left  behind,  , 
with  a  leaf  still  turned  down  at  1  Corinthians  xv. ;  and  | 
the  presence  of  his  uncle  himself,  who,  with  his  eyes  ' 
overflowing  with  tears,  referred  to  the  incidents  of  this 
earthly  interview.     And  lastly,   the  neat  sequestered 
cemetery,  so  remarkable  for  its  simplicity,  where  (to  adopt  | 
a  single  line  from  the  poet,  whose  description  of  the  bury-  j 
ing  place  of  the  patriarchs  in  "  The  World  before  the  ' 
Flood,"  is  supposed  to  be  delineated  from  a  Moravian  grave 
ground :)  i 

"  The  little  heaps  are  ranged  in  comely  rows,"  jU 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


277 


and  over  one  of  which  the  surname  of  "  Summerfield" 
was  inscribed.*  This  visit,  so  interesting  from  these  asso- 
ciations, was  rendered  yet  still  more  so  by  the  courteous 
affability  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Polilman,  the  resident 
minister  and  his  lady. 

Mr.  Summerfield  was  mvited,  and  actually  announced 
to  preach  in  the  chapel  at  Fairfield,  (a  distinction  never 
conferred  upon  a  methodist  preacher  before,)  and  a  large 
congregation  assembled  accordingly  ;  but  the  arrival  of  an 
official  visitor  at  the  time,  and  the  death  of  the  resident 
bishop,  Moore,  prevented  this. 

[To  Mrs.  Blackstock.] 
"Fairfield,  near  Manchester,  June  Wth,  1823. 
"  Mr  DEAREST  Ellen, 

"  Your  long  and  grateful  letter  came  to  me  this  morn- 
ing ;  it  had  been  left  at  Fairfield  by  Mr.  Congreve,  yester- 
day, although  I  lost  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him,  having 
gone  to  Manchester.  Last  night,  I  spent  an  hour  or  two 
^vith  Mr.  Sands ;  he  proceeds  to  day  to  Sheffield  and  Leeds, 
where  I  expect  also  to  be  in  ten  days  or  a  fortnight,  but  must 
first  proceed  to  Livei-pool  to-morrow.  In  Ameha's  letter, 
I  have  mentioned  the  afflictions  of  my  uncle's  family  :  it 
••calls  to  my  mmd  my  own,  and  especially  on  this  very  day 
last  year.    Mr.  B.  will  never  forget  that  day,  when  stand - 

*  "  Joseph  Summerfield,  departed,  June  8th,  1823,  aged  21 
years." 

2  A 


278 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


ing  by  my  bed  in  Doctor  Sargeant's  chamber ; — every 
moment  I  expected  my  change, — and  having  no  power 
to  speak,  on  account  of  the  incessant  bleeding  from  my 
lungs,  I  made  signs  for  a  writing-table,  and  being  bolster- 
ed up  in  bed  in  a  sitting  posture,  I  wrote  the  enclosed 
paper  ;*  it  was  never  seen  by  any  other  eye,  and  in  giving 
it  to  you,  it  is  not  for  any  other  reason,  than  to  put  you  in 
mind  of  that  day  ;  and  to  excite  your  gratitude  and  thanks- 
giving to  Him  who  held  my  head  above  the  water  floods, 
and  again  said  '  Live !'  Oh  that  it  may  be  to  his  honour 
and  glory  ! 

"  With  regard  to  my  spared  hfe,  I  can  say  Uttle  as  to 
its  long  continuance  ;  certainly  I  shall  never  see  threescore 
years  and  ten  : — I  am  only  anxious  to  Uve  to  the  Lord 
while  I  live,  and  die  to  Him  when  I  die,  that  living  or 
dying  I  may  be  the  Lord's." 

On  Sunday  the  22d  of  Jmie,  he  preached  in  Leed's- 
street  chapel,  Liverpool.  "  It  is,"  says  he,  when  writing 
liome,  "  the  first  time  since  my  arrival  in  England ;  and 
yet,  although  I  name  this  to  show  you  that  I  am  not  quite 
dead,  you  must  not  infer  that  because  I  have  begun  I  shall 
continue  ; — no  ;  it  will  be  very,  very,  very,  seldom  repeated, 
and  I  shall  always  inform  you  when  it  is." — His  jomnal 
was  altogether  neglected  during  the  year  of  his  sojourn 
in  England  ;  but  it  is  gratifying  to  learn  from  the  follow - 


*  This  letter  inclosed  the  testamentary  paper  given  page  210. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


279 


ing  extract — indeed  from  bis  correspondence  generally, 
that  while  his  body  was  confined  by  the  weakness  of  the 
flesh — his  soixl  was  at  the  same  time  ^'  jirogressing^^  in 
holiness. 

[To  Dr.  Samuel  Baker.] 

"Liverpool,  June  23cf,  1823. 
"  My  dear  Friend  and  Brother, 

"  I  know  you  will  expect  to  hear  something  concern- 
ing myself, — and  tliis  is  the  cross  which  my  friends  com- 
pel  me  to  bear  daily  ;  I  would  rather  write  on  any  other 
subject.  Well,  then,  I  find  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever !  He  is  my  unchangeaLla 
friend.  He  is  my  all  and  in  all;  of  late  He  has  been  tem- 
pering down  the  natural  hardness  of  my  heart,  that  it  may 
receive  some  deeper  impressions  of  the  mind  which  was 
also  in  Him  !  I  mourn  over  the  baseness  of  ths  material 
upon  which  this  is  to  be  wrought,  but  still  I  do  feel  that 
the  more  I  contemplate  and  behold  the  gloiy  of  my  Lord, 
the  more  I  am  changed  into  the  resemblance  of  the  origi- 
nal, by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord. — But  what  have  I  said  ? — 
And  yet  is  not  this  the  very  perfection  of  our  dispensation  ? 
— Oh  that  Ave  may  press  after  the  fuhiess  of  the  stature 
of  a  man  in  Christ  Jesus  !  I  have  lately  dwelt  much  on 
those  inexhaustible  words  of  the  apostle  John  :  '  Beloved, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God  ! — and  it  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be  /'  I  cannot  giasp  them, — tliere  is  a  world 
of  meaning  in  them  ! — '  It  doth  not  yet  appear !'  It  is  not 


280 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


yet  made  manifest :  but  it  shall  appear,  and  the  world 
which  now  knoweth  us  not,  shall  witness  the  manifestation 
of  the  sons  of  God  ;  for  conformed  to  our  Head,  '  we  shall 
be  hke  Him  !' — what  can  this  mean  ? — utterance  fails — 
the  heart  cannot  conceive — 

 '  We  fall  before  his  feet, 

And  silence  heightens  heaven  /' — 

"  As  regards  my  poor  body,  it  is  yet  compassed  about 
with  infirmities  ;  my  general  health  is  tolerably  good,  and 
except  this  cou  'k  of  which  I  complain,  I  am  as  I  have 
been  since  I  knew  you ;  my  cough  is  of  a  singular  cha- 
racter, for  although  I  expectorate  considerably  with  it,  no 
weakness  is  produced,  and  my  natural  strength  is  good  ; 
I  can  walk  for  hours  without  fatigue,  and  eat  my 
food  abundantly,  and  with  good  relish.  I  am  living  with 
a  physician  in  this  town,  with  whom  I  have  been  asso- 
ciated from  my  childhood,  and  brought  up  at  the  same 
school,  and  alnwst  fed  at  the  same  table.  Yesterday  morn- 
ing I  preached  for  the  jirsl  time  in  England  in  one  of  the 
largest  chapels  in  this  town,  and  felt  no  inconvenience 
consequent. 

"  Remember  me  affectionately  to  all  my  friends  in  Bal- 
timore, and  first  of  all  to  my  friend  and  brother  Soule  y 
upbraid  liim  for  not  having  written  to  me, — and  yet  this 
would  come  with  no  weight  from  you,  seeing  you  are  in 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  281 

the  same  condemnation.  Mrs.  Dickins,  Mrs.  Baker, 
Eloisa.  and  all  the  children,  share  my  love. 

"  Believe  me  to  remain, 

"  my  dear  Doctor,  ever  your's, 

"J.  SUMaiERFIELD.^ 

At  the  physician's  house"  alluded  to  in  the  preceding 
letter,  "  I  had,"  says  the  Rev.  W.  Stewart,  "  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  my  beloved  Summerfield  ;  I  was  greatly 
affected  at  witnessing  his  pale  and  emaciated  appearance  ; 
I  inquired  of  the  Doctor,  in  his  absence — '  Do  you  think 
it  |x)ssible,  Mr.  S.  can  recover  ?'  the  Doctor  replied,  '  with 
great  care,  he  may  live  two  years,  but  he  cannot  possibly 
live  longer.'  In  this  the  Doctor  manifested  his  consimimate 
skill,  both  with  reference  to  the  case  and  constitution  of 
his  friend.  My  very  heart  sighed,  and  said — 'alas!  my 
brother.' 

[To  Samuel  Harden,  Esq.] 

"  Liverpool,  July  lOth,  1823. 
My  health  is  much  as  when  I  last  wrote  ;  the  Good 
Physician  still  holds  me  m  hfe,  though  with  a  slender 
ihiead  :  I  do  not  yet  know  the  end  of  his  dealings  with 
me  in  this  respect ;  but,  he  is  too  wise  to  err,  and  too  good 
to  be  unkind, — He  will  do  all  things  well.  I  cannot  pro- 
mise myself  long  life,  as  far  as  human  reasoning  directs, 
t  liough  with  God  all  things  are  possible. — All  my  desire  i?. 
that  I  may  yet  stand  before  Hiin  in  his  sanctuary  a  little 
2  a2  36 


'^o*  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

longer  to  point  poor  sinners  to  the  scene  on  Calvary— the 
bleedmg  Jesus — 

'  Happy,  if  with  my  latest  breath, 
I  may  but  gasp  His  name  j 
Preach  Him  to  all—and  cry  in  death, 
Behold,  behold  the  Lamb  !' 

M)'  heart  was  much  rejoiced  yesterday  by  a  circumstance 
Uttle  looked  for :  a  man  called  upon  me,  to  acknowledge 
me  his  sphitual  father,  of  whom  I  had  not  the  most  distant 
recollection  ;  he  lives  in  Arklow  in  Ireland,  and  having 
heard  that  I  was  in  England,  he  set  off  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  to  lay  his  eyes  on  me,  as  he  said,  once  more. 
He  informed  me  that  four  years  ago,  as  I  was  preaching 
in  that  town,  in  the  open  ah,  '  for  no  other  place  was  large 
enough  to  contain  the  multitude^'  God  converted  his  soul, 
and  gave  him  a  clear  evidence  of  his  acceptance,  which 
he  has  since  retained.  He  remmded  me  of  the  text  on  the 
occasion — '  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy  ;'  and 
I  found  that  he  had  the  sermon  almost  witten  upon  his 
heart.  These  are  comfortable  results  of  our  weak  labours  ; 
we  see  not  now  the  fruits  ;  it  is  often  not  until  after  the 
labourer  has  fallen  asleep,  that  the  seed  springs  up  ;  and  the 
death  of  the  minister  has  often  given  birth  to  many  pre- 
cious souls,  who  had  been  heretofore  only  hearers  of  the 
word  ; — may  this  thought  comfort  us  continually,  and  may 
we  know  the  application  of  the  Apostle's  words,  in  more 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


283 


than  their  primary  sense,  <  for  me  to  live  is  Christ, — but  to 
die  is  gainJ '' 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Blackstock,  dated  Liverpool,  July  10th, 
1823,  occurs  the  following  passage,  "your  second  letter  of 
the  13th  is  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  the  subject  of  my 
health  and  my  return  home  ;  I  know  they  are  both  inte- 
resting subjects,  and  often  mix  themselves  with  the  fireside 
conversation,  and  often  afford  a  theme  to  break  the  silence 
wliich  sometimes  exists  in  the  chief  seat  of  the  table. 
My  health  !  and  my  return  home  I — I  feel  myself  growing 
dull,— or  rather  sorrowful ;  home  is  a  word  which  has  a 
spell  in  it,  and  I  am  now  operated  upon  by  it  almost  to  a 
momentary  melancholy.  Sometimes  I  view  the  distance 
so  great,  and  so  measure  the  ocean  that  rolls  between  us, 
that  I  start  and  say,  '  shall  I  ever  see  that  place  again  !'  At 
other  times,  I  am  so  buoyant,  that  I  consider  it  but  as  two 
steps,  by  one  of  which  I  take  my  foot  off  Europe,  and  by 
the  other,  set  it  on  America ;  I  believe,  however,  both  these 
ways  of  viewing  it  are  erroneous — they  are  the  extremes  ; 
may  God  help  me  to  overcome  all  difficulties,  and  bring 
me  to  the  desired  haven !"  His  letters  to  liis  j'ounger 
sisters,  to  his  father,  and  to  Mr.  Blackstock,  breathe  similav 
sentiments. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  the  British  Conference  opened  at 
Sheffield,  at  which  place  it  is  sexenniaUy  held.  At  this 
celebrated  mart  of  cutlery,  Mr.  Summerfield  spent  about 
a  week,  during  which  he  was  domiciled  with  my  wortliy 


284 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


friend  Thomas  Branson,  Esq. — partaking  the  elegant 
hospitahties  of  this  gentleman's  house  with  his  old  and 
valued  friend  Dr.  Townley,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  France,  who 
having  travelled  at  Preston,  was  not  unknown  to  the 
family.  His  appearance  was  very  unhealthy  ;  his  counte- 
nance, formerly  so  fair  and  delicate,  appeared  to  be  puffed 
up,  and  shghtly  cadaverous  in  its  hue :  he  complained 
chiefly  of  a  pain  in  his  side,  which  was  so  violent  one 
night,  that  he  told  Mrs.  Branson,  (who  nursed  him  with  a 
mother's  care,)  in  the  morning,  that  he  had  with  difficulty 
refrained  from  caUing  them  up,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
assistance  of  a  surgeon  to  open  a  vein. 

At  this  Conference, — to  the  sittings  of  which  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield  was  freely  admitted,  and  treated  with  great 
respect, — the  Rev.  Messrs.  Richard  Reece  and  John  Han- 
nah were  appointed  to  proceed  to  the  United  States,  to 
reciprocate  the  friendship  of  the  American  Conference, 
which  had  been  expressed  four  years  before,  by  their  re- 
presentative, the  Rev.  John  Emory.  It  was  agreed  that 
Mr.  Summerfield,  on  his  return  home,  should  accompany 
these  gentlemen  to  America.  Ultimately,  however,  this 
arrangement  was  overrided  by  unforeseen  circumstances , 
and  I  am  happy  in  being  able  to  account  for  an  incident 
unpleasant  to  the  feelings  of  both  parties,  in  the  words  of 
Mr.  Hannah  himself  :— "  That  Mr.  Summerfield  did  not 
accompany  Mr.  Reece  and  myself  in  the  same  ship,  was  a 
source  of  great  disappointment  to  us  ;  but  it  arose  entirely 
from  a  private  cause.    Mr.  S.  was  waiting  for  his  brother. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


385 


T\  lio  had  been  spending  some  time  I  think  in  Prussia  ;  and 
when  he  found  that  he  was  unable  to  sail  so  early  as  we 
intended,  he  expressed  a  wish  that  we  would  wait  a  fort- 
night longer.  This  it  was  impracticable  for  us  to  do,  as 
our  arrangements  were  fully  fixed.  We  were,  therefore, 
under  the  necessity,  though  with  painful  reluctance,  of 
taking  our  departure  without  him."* 

After  his  return  from  Sheffield,  and  having  visited, 
among  other  places,  Frodsham,  Birmmgham,  Manchester, 
Liverpool,  and  Runcorn,  he  took  up  his  residence  with 
Anthony  Badley,  Esq.  a  gentleman  of  piety  and  fortune, 
liieii  residing  at  Weston  HiU,  near  the  latter  place.  Wliile 
under  the  roof  of  his  kind  entertainer,  a  portrait  was 
jminted  of  this  "in  every  respect,  extraordinary  young 
vmn,'"  as  Summerfield  is  justly  designated  by  Mr.  Badley. 
This  picture,  v.  hich  the  worthy  owner  regards  as  a  "  beau- 
tiful hkeness,"  has  been  by  him  courteously  transmitted 
for  the  author's  inspection  :  may  Mr.  Badley  be  long  spared 
to  contemplate  this  precious  memorial  of  such  a  friend  in 
his  present  residence — Llanrhydd  House,  in  the  far  famed 
and  beautiful  vale  of  Ciwyd,  North  Wales. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  year,  he  opened  a  hand- 
some new  chapel  at  Bilston  in  Suffolk  ;  it  is  to  a  print  of 
this  house,  that  he  refers  in  the  last  clause  of  the  following 
extract  of  a  letter  to  his  youngest  sister :  "  I  have  of  late 


*  Ex  Epist.  J.  H.  penes  me,  Feb.  28th,  1829. 


286 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


more  resembled  the  wandering  Arab  than  the  domestic 
European,  and  have  hterally  had  no  certain  dwelling  place. 
However,  lest  you  should  imagine,  that  like  the  Arabian,  I 
have  been  dwelling  in  tents,  and  not  m  ceiled  houses,  I  send 
you  an  engraving  of  one  of  my  visiting  places — and  a 
most  lovely  one  it  is,  as  ever  you  saw." 

[To  Dr.  Samuel  Baker.] 

^'Liverpool,  October  24th,  1823. 
The  climate  of  England  has  been  more  congenial 
to  me  in  every  respect,  [than  France,]  and  I  rejoice  to  say 
that  my  inner  man  is  renewed  day  by  day ;  I  love  my 
Master,  and  I  love  his  work ;  I  love  his  wages,  and  I  love 
his  servants  ;  and  if  I  hate  any  thing,  it  is  my  own  hfe. — 
for  I  count  not  my  life  dear  to  me,  that  I  may  finish  my 
course  with  joy,  and  the  mmistry  which  I  have  received 
of  the  grace  of  God.  As  respects  my  bodily  health,  it  is 
greatly  improved,  and  1  now  look  forward,  with  some  well 
grounded  hope,  that  I  shall  be  restored  again  to  your 
prayers, — if  it  be  but  for  a  little  season. 

"  I  am  now  directmg  my  face  toward  America ;  God 
is  my  record  how  greatly  I  long  after  you  all !  Early  in 
the  year  1  hope  to  take  my  departure, — but  you  shaL  hear 
from  me  before  that  time,  so  as  to  know  my  final  arrange- 
ments. I  have  just  returned  from  Birmingham,  where  I 
have  spent  a  month  most  dehghtfully  ;  I  was  a  good  deal 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foxall,  who  are  both  well,  and  now 
travelling  among  Mr.  F's.  relations  in  Wales." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


287 


The  following  letter  was  addiessed  to  Captain  Williams, 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  who  generously  gave 
Mr.  Summerfield  a  free  passage  from  America  to  Mar- 
seilles, in  the  fine  ship  l^ix  Brothers^  of  which  he  was  the 
owner : — 

"  Runcorn,  December  22d,  1823. 
*'  My  dear  Captain  Williams,  my  christian  friend  and 
brother,  whom  I  love  in  the  truth. 

"  At  this  season  of  the  year,  it  is  natural  that  I  should 
liave  you  much  upon  my  mind ; — not  that  I  have  ever 
forgotten  you,  for  God  is  my  record,  that  I  have  good 
remembrance  of  you  in  my  prayers ;  but  at  this  time 
especially,  when  I  am  reminded  of  my  departure  from  my 
family  and  friends,  as  on  tliis  week,  a  year  ago,  I  cannot 
but  connect  with  this  recollection,  the  grateful  feeUngs 
which  pervade  my  whole  soul  towards  you.  I  have  never 
thought  of  you,  but  with  affection  ; — and  I  have  wondered 
Avhat  could  have  moved  your  unmerited  kindness  to  me, 
who  was  altogether  a  stranger  to  you ;  it  was  not  the 
'friendship  of  the  world,' — this  induces  every  man  to  look 
on  his  own  things  only,  and  weigh  accurately  the  profit 
that  would  accrue  from  every  transaction  ;  but  your  dis- 
interested kindness  bears  a  higher  stamp  than  nature  ever 
impressed, — I  see  in  it  the  counterpart  of  an  apostle's 
doctrine,  '  loving  Him  that  begat,  we  love  them  also  that 
are  begotten  of  Him  :'  and  unworthy  as  I  am  to  be  ac- 
counted a  disciple  of  our  common  Lord,  yet  you  have  done 


288 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


what  you  have  done  in  regard  to  this  relationship.  I  can 
only  endeavour  to  heap  blessings  on  your  head  ;  thanks  is 
a  poor  return, — and  I  should  mourn  over  my  poverty  much 
more  in  reference  to  my  fi  iends,  if  I  did  not  remember 
who  hath  said,  '  a  cup  of  cold  water  even,  given  to  a  disciple 
in  the  name  of  a  disciple,  shall  not  lose  its  reward.* — I  can 
boldly,  therefore,  transfer  my  debt  to  Him  who  has  promised 
to  repay  ;  I  feel  confident  that  my  God  will  supply  to  you 
all  my  lack  out  of  His  riches  in  glory  by  Christ  Jesus  ! 
Thanks  to  you,  my  dear  friend,  again  and  again ;  and 
may  the  Incarnate  Immanuel,  whose  advent  into  this  lower 
world  we  at  this  season  commemorate,  take  up  His  resi- 
dence within  your  heart,  and  sanctify  you  tlnoughout 
body,  soul,  and  spirit !  This  is  the  will  of  God  concerning 
you,  and  faithful  is  He  that  hath  called  you,  who  also  Avill 
do  it ; — be  strong  in  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
hold  fast  that  which  you  have  attained,  and  press  on ;  that 
when  you  fail  on  earth,  you  may  be  received  into  ever- 
lasting habitations  !  Jlmen  and  Amen. 

"  If  you  see  Captain  Mason,  remember  me  affectionately 
to  liim ;  he  was  every  thing  to  me  that  I  could  wish,  a 
father,  a  nurse,  a  servant ;  and  with  all  the  trouble  I  gave 
him  through  my  weakness  of  body,  he  never  seemed 
weary  of  serving  me,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  May 
God  reward  him  a  hundred  fold  !  Farewell. 

"  Your  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 
«J.  SLTMMERFIELD." 


HEV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  289 

In  a  letter  to  his  father  under  the  same  date  as  the 
preceding,  Mr.  Summerfield  wrote  as  follows — and  the  in- 
telligence was  melancholy  indeed,  with  reference  to  a  gen- 
tleman who  had  shown  him  no  small  kindness  in  the 
l  uited  States: — "  When  I  reflect  upon  the  loss  of  many 
of  my  Mends  and  acquaintance  in  the  past  year,  who  pro- 
mised a  long — long  term  of  years — I  am  lost  to  know 
why  I  linger  here  below.  This  morning  I  have  received 
the  intelligence  of  the  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Foxall ;  he 
w  fully  calculating  on  returning  to  America  with  me 
and  brother  Reece ;  a  few  weeks  ago,  I  parted  with  him, 
full  of  health, — and  now  he  is  no  more !  '  Be  ye  also 
ready,'  is  sounding  in  my  ears  ever  since." 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1824,  he  wrote  to  his  old 
1  lass-leader,  the  Rev.  Patrick  French,  then  a  Wesleyan 
Missionary  on  the  island  of  Antigua,  in  the  West  Indies. 

"  Runcorn,  near  Liverpool,  February  \^th,  1824. 
"  My  ever  beloved  father  and  friend,  whom  I  unceas- 
ingly love  in  the  truth  ! 

"  What  shall  I  say  unto  you  ? — not  that  the  difficulty 
irises  in  the  want  of  matter,  but  in  the  selection  from  that 
Abundance  of  it  which  now  presses  upon  my  mind,  the 
noment  I  undertake  to  write  to  you.  *  *  *  * 


"  Although  I  have  been  in  England  ever  since  the 
uonth  of  May  last,  I  have  not  been  able  to  visit  Ireland ; 
2  b  37 


290 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


— I  thought  I  perceived  an  unwiUingness  on  the  part  of  the 
Irish  preachers  ; — indeed  I  scarcely  think  they  have  from 
their  hearts  forgiven  me  for  leaving  them  :  but  the  autho- 
rity of  a  parent — and  that  a  pious  one,  compelled  the 
change, — and  I  am  now  satisfied  that  the  good  hand  of 
my  God  was  with  me.  He  has  prospered  me  in  America, 
above  all  that  I  could  have  asked  or  thought ;  but  T  dare 
not  trust  my  own  heart  to  enter  into  particulars, — '  the 
day  shall  declare  it.'  In  reference,  however,  to  my  much 
loved  Ireland,  I  am  now  quite  reUeved  by  two  letters  I 
have  received  within  the  last  week,  from  my  best  friend 
in  all  that  country — my  dear  William  Stewart;  I  only 
regret  that  I  cannot  now  accept  his  invitation  to  come  and 
receive  at  the  mouths  of  many,  the  welcome  of  their 
'  inside  hearts,' — as  he  calls  it.  But  alas !  with  all  this, 
there  is  mingled  the  inteUigence  that  brother  Steele  is  gone 
to  his  reward !  O  that  we  may  ever  stand  with  our  loins 
girded  up,  ready  to  follow  the  bridegroom  whenever  He 
appeareth ! 

"  I  am,  as  ever, 

"  your's  in  the  best  of  bonds, 
«J.  SUMMERFIELD.' 

His  friend  Mr.  Badley  having  removed  from  Weston  Hill 
to  Linacre,  to  avoid  the  winter's  blast,  to  which  the  former 
situation  was  exposed,  Mr.  Summerficld  accompanied  him 
to  this  new  residence,  and,  says  he,  (January  29th,  1824.) 
"  a  more  delightful  spot  I  could  not  have  chosen."  "  Since 
my  last,"  he  observes,  "  I  remain  much  as  usual ;  indeed, 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


291 


1  am  like  a  '  creaking  gate,'  whose  liinges  are  half  con- 
sumed, but  yet  hangs  on."  From  this  retreat,  he  wrote 
again  to  Mr.  Blackstocjt,  "  I4th  of  February,  1824 — Va- 
lentine's day."  Tliis  letter,  in  which  he  "  mourns  over 
the  unmethodistical  conduct"  of  some  of  the  members  of 
the  American  Society,  was  the  last  he  wrote  from 
England. 


292 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


SECTION  XVI. 

Retvryis  to  Afnerica — attends  the  Baltimore  Conference — 
ordained  an  Elder — appointed  a  Missionary  within 
the  bounds  of  Baltimore  Conference — extracts  from 
diary — missio?i  to  the  Wyandott  Indians — at  Balti- 
more in  extreme  debility. 

Mr.  Summerfield  had  now  been  fifteen  months  absent 
from  America,  and  although  the  latter  moiety  of  that  period 
had  been  spent  in  England,  the  land  of  his  nativity,  and 
amidst  generous  friends  and  Christian  brethren,  who 
evinced  towards  him  the  greatest  respect,  he  felt  neverthe- 
less that  he  was  from  home.  His  bowels  yearned  towards 
his  father,  his  brothers,  and  sisters,  whom  in  recollection, 
as  well  as  in  imagination,  he  saw  assembled  about  the  do- 
mestic hearth,  the  happiness  of  which  he  knew  suffered 
some  diminution  on  account  of  his  absence ;  and  where, 
as  an  invalid,  he  could  not  but  fancy  he  might  find  that 
repose  which  appeared  still  to  be  so  necessary  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  his  shattered  health.  But  above  all,  he 
sighed  to  be  again  engaged  in  that  blessed  work  of  calling 
sinners  to  repentance,  to  which  his  whole  soul  was  so  en- 
tirely given  up. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


293 


His  return  to  America  iiad,  as  before  intimated,  been  ex- 
pected by  a  packet  vessel  which  sailed  in  February  ;  and 
how  cordial  a  welcome  awaited  liim  from  one  who  is  now 
a  Bishop  of  that  church  of  which  he  was  a  minister,  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  written  by 
the  Rev.  Joshua  Soule,  from  Baltimore,  March  25th,  and 
addressed  to  Mr.  Summerfield,  at  New- York: — "  I  re- 
ceived information  through  the  Commercial  Advertiser,  of 
the  arrival  of  the  packet,  and  the  names  of  the  passengers, 
the  morning  previous  to  the  receipt  of  your  letter,  and  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  describe  my  feeUngs,  when  I  read  the 
names  of  Messrs.  Reece  and  Hannah,  and  foimd  not 
yours — but  my  painlul  appreheiisions  were  but  for  a  day  ; 
and  I  assure  you  when  I  ascertained  that  the  cause  of  your 
delay  was  not  sickness,  or  any  peculiarly  adverse  provi- 
dence, I  rejoiced  with  thanksgiving. — Welcome  !  thrice 
welcome,  my  dear  Jolm,  to  the  shore  of  my  native,  and 
your  adopted  home  !" 

On  the  16th  of  March,  1824,  he  bade  farewell,  alas !  a 
final  farewell,  to  England,  and  embarked  on  board  the 
Orbit,  Captain  Tinkham,  and  on  the  19th  of  April,  ar- 
rived in  New- York — "  contrary  to  all  my  expectations,  with 
a  sUght  degree  of  improved  health."  Three  days  after  his 
arrival,  he  attended  the  Anniversary  of  the  Missionary 
Society ;  and  on  the  Sunday  following,  he  preached  at 
Brooklyn,  New- York,  to  an  overflowing  congregation. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  he  proceeded  to  the  General  Con- 
2  B  2 


294 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


ference  held  in  Baltimore,  halting  by  the  way  to  preach  at 
Philadelphia.  His  emotions  may  be  better  conceived  than 
described,  on  being  thus  permitted  once  more  to  hold  forth 
the  word  of  God  in  the  city,  where,  two  years  before,  his 
Ufe  had  been  despaired  of.  Great  as  had  been  his  former 
popularity,  he  still  found  the  Philadelphians  his  "  unchange' 
able  friends  ;" — his  reception  was  equal  to  his  expectations. 

He  attended  the  sittings  of  this  Conference,  and  on  the 
19th  of  May  he  was  ordained  Elder.  The  Rev.  Richard 
Reece,  from  England,  preached  the  preparatory  sermon, 
and  Bishop  M'Kendree  presided ;  Bishops  George  and 
Roberts  were  also  present.  "  I  was  presented,"  says  he, 
•'  by  my  valued  friend  and  brother — now  my  Bishop — 
Soule,  and  he,  with  Mr.  E.  Cooper,  F.  Garrettson,  Josiah 
Wells,  assisted  in  the  laying  on  of  hands.  To  describe  m) 
feeUngs  is  impossible — it  was  a  day  never  to  be  forgotten  ! 
I  renewed  my  vows  unto  the  Lord,  in  the  presence  of  the 
most  august  assembly  I  ever  expect  to  meet  on  this  side  of 
heaven !" 

The  following  is  the  Certificate  of  ordination  : — 
"  Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  that  I,  WiUiam 
M'Kendree,  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,  under  the  protection  of  Almighty  God, 
and  with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  by  the  imposition  of  my 
hands  and  prayer,  (being  assisted  by  the  Elders  present,) 
have  this  day  set  apart  John  Summerpield  for  the  oflice 
of  an  Elder  in  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  man 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


295 


whom  I  judge  to  be  well  qualified  for  that  work  ;  and  I  do 
hereby  recommend  him  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  as  a 
proper  person  to  administer  the  sacraments  and  ordinances, 
and  to  feed  the  flock  of  Christ,  so  long  as  his  spirit  and 
practice  are  such  as  become  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

"  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
seal,  this  19th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-four. 

"  Wm.  M'Kendree.  {Seal.) 

"  Conference  Room,  Baltimore." 

In  consequence  of  the  precarious  state  of  his  health,  and 
the  advice  of  physicians,  he  was  appointed  by  this  Confe- 
rence a  Missionary  within  its  hmits  for  the  ensuing  year. 
The  following  letter,  signed  by  the  presiding  Bishop,  will 
most  clearly  illustrate  the  scope  of  the  instructions  of  his 
Christian  fathers  and  brethren.  The  recommendation 
with  regard  to  Sunday  Schools  is  honourable  to  the  as- 
sembly from  whence  it  emanated.  An  attention  to  the 
"  spiritual  and  eternal  interests  of  the  rising  generation,"  is 
an  object  worthy  of  Episcopal  commendation  ;  and  happily 
we  have  Uved  to  see  the  day,  when  the  dignitaries  of  Ame- 
rica, Methodist  and  otherwise,  are  not  alone  in  their  atten 
tion  to  this  important  duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

"  Baltimore,  May,  1824. 

"  Dear  Brother — 

"  I  herewith  acquaint  you  with  the  determination 
wliich  has  been  made  on  the  subject  of  your  appointment 


296 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


for  the  ensuing  year,  in  the  ftdfilment  of  which  you  are 
to  hold  yourself  amenable  to  the  Baltimore  Conference. 
You  have  been  nominated  a  *  Missionary  within  the 
bounds  of  this  Conference,'  similar  to  the  arrangement 
made  in  your  case  last  year,  but  which  your  absence  from 
the  country  prevented  from  going  into  operation.  Con- 
formable with  this  arrangement,  it  will  be  your  duty  to 
visit  as  many  of  the  principal  places  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  as  may  be  practicable,  having 
a  special  reference  in  all  your  journeyings  to  the  promotion 
of  the  interests  of  our  Missionary  cause :  this  may  be  ac- 
comphshed  by  forming  auxiliary  branch  societies,  holding 
anniversary  meetings,  and  raising  collections  at  all  conve- 
nient opportunities:  in  short,  by  every  means  exciting 
among  our  people  a  missionary  spirit,  worthy  of  the  wide 
and  greatly  extending  work  among  us.  Closely  connected 
with  this,  are  our  sabbath  school  institutions ;  and  I  ear- 
nestly desire  that  you  will  do  all  in  your  power  to  promote 
the  spiritual  and  eternal  interests  of  the  rising  generation. 
But  superior  to  all  these,  I  trust  you  will  ever  keep  in  view 
in  all  your  ministrations,  the  great  design  which  we  beUeve 
that  God  intended  to  accomplish  in  the  world,  in  making 
us  '  a  people  that  were  not  a  people,' — I  mean  the  know- 
ledge not  only  of  in  free,  and  a  present,  but  also  a  full  sal- 
vation :  in  other  words,  a  salvation  from  all  sin,  unto  all 
holiness  ! 

"  Insist  much  on  this,  build  up  the  churches  herein,  and 
proclaim  aloud  that '  without  hohness  no  man  shall  see  the 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


297 


Lord under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  this 
doctrine  will  be  acknowledged  of  God :  '  signs  will  follow 
them  that  beheve,'  and  press  after  this  uttermost  salvation, 
and  our  people  will  bear  the  mark  of  their  high  calling, — 
becoming  '  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people.'  Never  forget 
that  no  doctrine  which  we  have  ever  preached,  has  been 
more  owned  by  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  I  doubt  not, 
but  the  success  of  your  Mission  may  mainly  depend  on 
your  zealously  holding  forth  this  great  salvation. 

"  But  although  the  arrangement  within  will  confine  you 
officially  to  the  Baltim.ore  Conference,  to  attend  to  which 
will  be  your  first  concern,  yet  from  conversations  I  have 
had  with  Dr.  Baker,  Dr.  Wilkins,  and  other  friendly 
physicians,  I  deem  it  adviseable  that  you  should  be  allowed 
the  privilege  of  extending  your  range  of  travel  according 
to  the  seasons  of  the  year,  in  order  that  your  health  may 
become  permanently  re-estabhshed. 

"  I  therefore  permit  you  to  visit  any  part  to  the  north  of 
this  Conference  in  the  summer  season,  and  to  the  south 
in  the  winter  season,  as  may  be  recommended  to  you  by 
your  physicians :  at  the  same  tune  urging  upon  you  to  have 
special  regard  to  all  the  preceding  objects  of  your  mission, 
in  every  place  whither  you  may  go :  sincerely  praying  that 
(he  Head  of  the  Church  may  acknowledge  your  labours, 
not  in  word  only,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth. 

"  Your's,  affectionately, 

W.  M'KENDREE." 

38 


298 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


May  29th,  Mr.  Summerfield  returned  to  New- York, 
"  exhausted  in  body,  depressed  in  mind,  but  confiding  in 
the  God  of  Providence  and  Grace."  And  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Baker,  he  remarks,  "  we  had  a  tedious  journey  of  it, 
and  although  I  rested  at  home  the  whole  of  yesterday,  I 
stiU  feel  the  effects ;  my  sister  was  still  more  jaded,  and 
prefers  staying  on  the  island  to  accompanying  me  into  the 
city  ;  however, '  after  the  fatigue  is  over,  as  to  its  effects, 
I  hope  we  shall  both  show  that  the  kindness  of  our  friends 
in  Baltimore  has  produced  '  marrow  in  our  bones.'  For 
my  own  part,  my  friends  here  speak  very  flatteringly  of 
the  change  in  my  appearance ;  I  hope  it  may  be  perma- 
nent, and  that  my  future  stay  among  you  may  tend  to  the 
prosperity  of  my  body  and  my  soul." 

He  preached  in  Brooklyn  at  the  dedication  of  a  new 
Methodist  church,  on  the  6th  of  June :  the  Rev.  J.  Han- 
nah  from  England  preached  on  the  same  occasion.  And 
on  the  following  Sunday,  he  occupied  the  pulpit  in  John- 
street  Church,  New- York  ;  in  connexion  with  this  service, 
he  remarks, — "  I  never  remember  so  gracious  a  time 
under  my  feeble  ministry  !" 

After  corresponding  with  Dr.  Baker  on  the  propriety  or 
impropriety  of  his  visiting  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  the 
middle  of  summer,  he  resolved,  in  accordance  with  profes- 
sional advice,  and  in  the  company  of  a  gentleman  from 
New- York,  to  make  a  Missionary  excursion  northward. 
He  Avas  at  this  time  so  feeble,  that  he  dreaded  to  under- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD.  299 

take  the  journey,  and  yet,  says  he,  "  I  was  fit  for  nothing 
else."  He  took  the  steamboat  to  Albany,  at  which  place 
he  joined  his  companion,  in  whose  carriage  they  proceeded 
through  New- York  state,  into  Vermont,  and  to  Middlebury, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  31st. 

To  those  who  knew,  and  loved  as  he  deserved,  the  sub- 
ject of  these  memoirs,  it  cannot  be  uninteresting  to  trace 
liis  progress  through  the  brief  rerrmant  of  his  ministerial 
career.  The  very  names  of  the  places  which  he  visited 
w  ill  form  memorials,  interesting  to  the  recollections  of 
many  who  will  delight  to  recall,  with  the  pious  memory  of 
the  preacher,  the  scenes  and  circumstances  which  distin- 
guished his  ministrations.  To  avoid  tautology,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  identify  Mr.  Summerfield  himself  as 
much  as  possible  with  the  progress  of  his  mission,  it  will 
be  best  generally  to  quote  from  a  very  laconic  diary,  which 
he  kept  after  his  return  to  America,  such  entries  as  may 
appear  interesting. 

"  August  \st,  1824.  I  preached  in  Middlebury  on  Sab- 
bath morning, — and  was  so  exhausted  in  consequence, 
that  the  remainder  of  the  day  was  indeed  a  burden  to  me ; 
but  the  Lord  blessed  my  soul ! 

"  4th.  I  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  chmch,  taking  up 
a  Missionary  collection  for  our  Indian  Missions,  amounting 
to  twenty  dollars — a  great  thing  for  Middlebury. 


300 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


"  8th.  Sunday.  I  preached  again  in  our  church  ;  and 
never  did  I  experience  so  great  an  increase  of  health  and 
vigour,  as  in  the  past  week.  My  health  seems  renewed 
like  the  eagle's ! 

"  10th.  I  preached  in  BurUngton,  in  the  court  house, 
to  a  polite  audience :  and  spent  an  agreeable  afternoon, 
at  the  house  of  the  Governor  :" — he  was  a  brother  of  Judge 
Van  Ness,  of  New- York. 

"  11th.  I  proceeded  as  far  as  Montreal  in  Canada  ;  even 
here  I  found  many  friends. 

"  12th.  I  addressed  the  anniversary  assembly  of  the 
Montreal  Bible  Society. 

"  15th.  I  preached  this  morning  in  the  Methodist 
chapel ;  our  Society  here,  is  supplied  by  missionaries  from 
the  British  Conference. 

"  16th.  I  visited  the  Indian  settlement  of  Cochnawaga — 
a  Catholic  priest  resides  among  them. 

"  18th.  I  preached  again  in  Montreal  in  behalf  of  the 
Lancasterian  Free  School,  and  collected  one  hundred  and 
ten  dollars. 


"  20th.  I  preached  in  the  Socinian  church,  (Burlington.) 
at  their  earnest  request.    I  bless  God  that  I  had  courage 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  301 

sufficient  not  to  prevent  me  from  keeping  back  any  part  of 
the  counsel  of  God-  They  were  oflended,  and  refused  lo 
come  to  hear  me  again. 

•  22d,  Sunday.  I  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  churcli, 
and  raised  a  collection  of  thuty-fom-  dollars  in  aid  of  our 
Missions. 

••  23d.  Departed  from  Middlebury,  and  arrived  safely  at 
Pleasant  Valley,  in  New- York  state,  on  Friday  following", 
where  I  preached  the  same  evening,  to  such  a  congrega- 
tion as  we  could  raise. 

"  29th.  I  preachetl  at  Poughkeepsie  tioice.  This  is  the 
first  venture  of  the  kind  I  have  made  since  my  hemorrhage 
in  1822.  I  found  myself  so  far  improved  by  this  my 
journey,  that  I  was  less  fatigued  than  I  had  been  b}- 
preaching  once  on  the  first  Sabbath  at  IMiddlebury.  In  the 
afternoon,  I  accepted  the  offer  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church — being  the  most  spacious  in  the  town.  Next  day 
I  took  my  departure  for  New- York,  where  I  arrived  safely 
on  Tuesday,  the  31st  inst.  after  an  absence  of  five  weeks. 
My  health  is  now  better  than  it  has  been  for  some  year.s^ 
so  that  I  am  persuaded  this  journey  was  of  God." 

[To  Dr.  Samuel  Baker.] 

"New-York,  6th  September,  1S24. 
"  My  Dear  Doctor — 

 "  In  labouring  more  abundantly  than  I  have 

2c 


302 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


done  at  any  period  since  my  affliction  in  Philadelphia,  I 
have  been  supported  by  the  great  Physician  of  body  and 
soul,  and  whilcstrengthened  in  the  inner  man,  I  have  found 
also  that  the  tabernacle  has  undergone  considerable  repaii', 
and  that  my  health  is  much  improved ;  how  long  this 
mercy  may  be  continued  to  me,  I  know  not ;  I  wish  to 
improve  it  to  its  full  extent,  and  work  while  it  is  called  to- 
day. I  feel  that  I  hold  Ufe  by  a  very  feeble  tenure,  and  I 
wish  therefore  ever  to  be  found  in  the  spirit  of  sacrifice. 

'  I  rejoice  to  learn  that  your  tour  has  been  no  less  bene- 
ficial than  my  own,  particularly  in  reference  to  her  on  whose 
behalf  it  was  mainly  undertaken  ; — may  she  be  long  con- 
tinued to  you,  to  be  blest  and  to  be  a  blessing.  I  now  look 
forward  to  my  return  among  you  with  less  painful  fore- 
Ijodings — the  gloom  which  hung  around  the  horizon  of 
Baltimore,  whenever  I  turned  my  eye  in  that  direction,  is 
now  considerably  dissipated,  and  I  anticipate  a  brighter 
scene,  if  God  permit. 

"  On  TImrsday  next,  the  15th  inst.,  I  leave  this  city  for 
Philadelphia,  so  you  see  I  am  now  inclining  my  steps 
towards  your  little  Bethany,  where  I  hope  ere  long  to 
mingle  with  '  Martha  and  her  sister,  and  Lazarus,'  and  oh, 
that  your  household  may  have  as  distinguished  a  character 

as  that  of  Martha,  '  and  the  family  whom  Jesus  loved.'  

"  Believe  me,  my  dear  Doctor, 

"  Ever  yours,  in  truest  affection, 

"  J.  SUMMERFIELD." 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


303 


On  Saturday  the  18th,  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  and 
on  the  following  day  preached  to  an  immense  multitude. 
Ten  days  afterward,  the  Missionary  board  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Conference  appointed  him  to  travel  within  the  states 
of  Pennsylvania  and  New- Jersey,  for  one  month,  to  form 
auxiliary  societies,  and  to  take  up  collections  in  aid  of  this 
institution.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Baker,  he  says — "  My  health 
remains  good — good  for  me;  I  still  labour  a  little  for  Him 
whom  my  soul  loveth,  and  for  whom  I  would  gladly  spend 
and  be  spent.  I  have  indeed  been  considerably  disap- 
pointed by  my  long  separation  from  you,  to  which  nothing 
would  have  reconciled  me,  but  a  belief  that  I  was  not  out 
of  the  line  of  duty.  I  think  I  can  positively  state  the 
time,  please  God,  when  I  shall  ')'•  w  ith  you — but  then  it  is 
a  period  so  distant  that  I  am  afraid  '  hope  so  long  deferred 
will  make  the  heart  sick.' — And  yet,  what  is  a  month — a 
little  month?  Agreeably  with  Bishop  M'Kendree's  re- 
quest, I  have  made  my  arrangements  to  devote  a  month  to 
travel  within  the  bounds  of  this  conference,  for  Missionary 
purposes.  To-morrow  I  depart,  in  company  with  m} 
dear  Thomas  (Rev.  T.  Sargeant.)  I  have  made  my  calcu- 
lations, and  determined  to  leave  here  on  Monday,  the 
fnst  of  November,  arriving  in  Baltimore  the  following 
morning." 

He  accordingly  preached,  with  reference  to  making  col- 
lections, and  forming  auxiUary  Missionary  Societies,  at 
Westchester,  Springfield,  Churchtown,  New  Holland, 
Strasburg,  Lancaster,  Columbia,  Harrisburg,  Marietta. 


304 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Reading,  Joanna,  and  on  the  15th  of  October,  he  returned 
to  Philadelpliia.  After  visiting  New- York,  where  he  re- 
mained till  the  27th,  he  again  set  out  on  his  mission. 

November  1,  1824.  Met  the  Committee  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Board  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  and  delivered 
my  Report.  The  whole  amount  collected  was  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  dollars,  and  six  auxiliary  societies  es- 
tablished. They  apportioned  me  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
live  dollars,  of  which  I  gave  Thomas  fifty  dollars  ;  travel- 
hng  expenses  were  thirty  dollars,  so  that  it  left  me  one 
hundied  and  five  dollars  clear.  This  is  the  first  church 
property  I  had  received  for  Hoo  years,  and  I  disbursed  it  all 
upon  my  dear  father  in  his  affliction. 

"2d.  Proceeded  to  Baltimore.  4th.  Preached  in  Light- 
street,  for  the  first  time  since  my  return.  I  am  now  com- 
fortably settled  here  ;  nothing  can  exceed  the  kindness  of 
Dr.  Baker  and  his  family  I  Their  love  to  me  is  wonderful ! 
My  God,  do  thou  remember  them  ! 

'•  1st  December.  Preached  to  thechildren  in  Light-street. 
9th.  Preached  again  to  the  clvildren,  and  collected  from 
them  eighty  dollars,  to  remit  to  my  dear  Brother  Finlay, 
who  writes  to  me  most  plaintively  to  raise  him  fifty  dollars. 
The  gold  and  the  silver  is  God's."  The  autograph  ac- 
Icnowledgement  of  this  devoted  apostle,  who  was  then 
labouring  among  the  Wyandott  Indians,  hes  before  me.  If 

written  from  Upper  Sandusky ;  and  I  will  not  WTong 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  oUu 

the  character  of  the  living,  nor  the  memory  of  the  dead,  by 
leaving  where  I  find  it  the  following  extract,  the  interest  of 
which  will  not  be  diminished  by  its  simpUcity :— '  Dear 
brother,  above  all,  I  want  your  prayers,  and  the  prayers  of 
aU  the  good  people  of  your  city.  Sometunes  I  feel  lone 
some,  and  yet  I  am  not  alone  if  I  have  but  the  prayers  of 
the  saints,  and  the  comforts  of  God's  Holy  Spirit.  I  often, 
when  lying  in  the  woods,  on  a  piece  of  bark,  taken  from 
some  lofty  oak  of  the  forest,  think  how  many  of  God's 
people  are  now  praying  for  me,  and  sometimes  I  am  so 
overvvhehiied  with  a  sense  of  the  goodness  of  my  most 
precious  Jesus,  that  I  cannot  contain  myself.  Glory  be 
to  God  !  I  feel  a  sacred  flame  this  moment  burning  with 
gratitude  to  him  who  never  sleeps.  Nor  does  He  despise 
the  day  of  small  things.  Oh,  that  I  was  more  holy,  that 
I  might  be  more  useful  to  my  fellow  mortals,  and  be  able 
to  spread  my  Saviour's  name  through  all  the  tribes  of  the 
forest.  Your  son*  John  is  a  fine  boy,  learns  well,  and 
promises  to  make  a  smart,  and  I  hope,  a  most  useful  man. 
As  he  is  not  in  need,  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  at  the 
present  time  for  you  to  send  him  any  thing.  If  you  had 
an  opportunity  to  send  some  small  present,  to  let  him  know 


*  An  Indian  boy,  named  John  Summerfield,  at  the  request  of 
the  Juvenile  Missionary  Society  at  Baltimore.  A  certain  sum,  I 
believe  one  hundred  dollars,  entitles  them  to  the  privilege  of 
naming  a  Boy  or  Girl.  At  the  anniversary  alluded  to  they 
named  John  Wesley,  R.  Ifliatcoat,  F,  Asbury,  Mary  Fletcher. 
W.  M'Kendree,  and  John  Summer jicld. 

30 


306 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


that  you  had  not  forgot  him,  and  some  advice,  which  is  a 
great  thing  amongst  our  children  from  their  friends,  it 
would  be  of  benefit  to  him,  and  let  him  know  that  you 
heard  that  he  is  a  good  boy  ;  and  that  as  he  has  become  your 
son,  you  wish  him  to  continue  to  be  so,  and  to  learn  his  book. 
&c.  Give  my  love  to  all  my  juveniles  in  Baltimore  that 
you  see,  and  tell  them  that  their  children  are  doing  well ; 
to  all  my  acquaintances,  and  to  ail  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
in  sincerity.  I  am,  with  every  sentiment  of  esteem,  your 
suffering  brother  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ, 

"JAMES  B.  FINLAY." 

The  following  entry  in  Mr.  Summerfield's  diary  will 
show  that  the  imposition  of  his  name  was  not  confined  to 
the  Wyandott  boy  above  mentioned  : — "  December  16th, 
1824.  Went  to  open  the  '  Summerfield  Chapel,'  at  Elk- 
ridge  landing,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Nevins,  and  other 
friends.  The  Lord  was  graciously  with  me,  and  suffered 
not  his  word  to  fall  to  the  ground." 

Wliile  at  Baltimore,  in  the  month  of  December,  he  sub- 
mitted to  a  course  of  sahvation ;  that  this  would  be  bene- 
ficial, was  alike  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Baker,  with  whom  he 
now  dwelt,  and  of  the  physician  with  whom  he  resided 
some  time  while  in  Liverpool.  Of  the  favourable  result 
of  this  severe  experiment,  his  friends  as  well  as  himself 
were  very  sanguine.  Writing  to  Mr.  Blackstock,  he  says  : 
— "  It  is  expected  that  in  the  spring  I  sha\\  fatten  up  after 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  307 

it,  and  visit  you  with  a  renewed  constitution.  My  mouth 
is  very  sore  with  the  mercury,  which  I  rub  on  my  right 
side  every  night,  and  yet  I  am  well  able  to  preach,  al- 
though I  moderate  myself  to  once  a  week,  viz.  on  Sun- 
day morning,  and  occasionally  exercise  at  public  anniver- 
saries on  the  week  daj^s,  Bible  Societies,  Bethel  Unions, 
Simday  and  Free  Schools,  Missionary  Societies,  &c.  all 
appealing  to  fall  due  just  at  this  time. — You  need  not, 
however,  be  uneasy  ;  I  am  in  kind  hands  under  Dr.  Baker, 
and  he  will  not  suffer  me,  even  were  I  inclined.,  (which  I 
assure  you  I  am  not,)  to  do  any  more  than  is  quite  con- 
sistent with  my  circumstances.  I  stay  in  always  in  the 
evenings,  and  have  determined  not  to  go  to  any  tea  parties, 
except  to  weddings,  for  I  have  begun  to  marry  others, 
though  I  have  no  prospect  of  such  a  change  for  myself,  so 
that  I  am  sme  you  will  commend  my  prudence."' 

Weak  as  he  was,  he  still  continued  -fo  preach :  after 
ser\-ice  in  Light-street  on  Sunday  morning,  although  he 
found  his  Master's  promise.  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always  !" 
graciously  fulfilled ;  yet  he  remarks — "  My  physical 
powers  are  very  weak,  and  I  have  seldom  been  more  ex- 
hausted than  at  the  close  of  this  exercise — had  to  retire 
to  bed.  O  how  should  I  value  a  sound  constitution,  were 
it  the  a\t11  of  God  !  But  it  appears  to  me,  I  am  appointed 
to  halt  upon  my  thigh  all  the  days  of  my  life.  Well ! 
these  light  afflictions  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  wiih 
the  glory  which  is  to  be  revealed  !  '    How  meekly  resigned 


308  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

to  the  will  of  God  !  Content  to  '•  halt  upon  his  thigh,  ' 
after  long  wrestling  with  the  angel,  and  havmg  obtained 
from  Him  the  blessing  which  in  Ireland  he  so  often  and 
bitterly  agonized  to  find.  The  day  following,  he  wnites  : 
— "  My  afiliction  is  so  increased,  that  a  consultation  of 
physicians  was  held  to-day.  I  am  interdicted  all  public 
labours !  I  am  the  subject  of  constant  fever,  '  Lord,  thy 
will  be  done 

On  Christmas  day,  notwithstanding  his  general  debility, 
and  that  his  mouth,  from  the  recent  effects  of  the  mercury, 
was  almost  too  sore  to  allow  him  to  speak,  the  absence  of 
Mr.  Nevins  left  it  almost  imperative  upon  him  to  take  an 
appointment.  "  I  have  resolved,  therefore,  (says  he)  to  hold 
out  to  the  end  of  the  year,  and  then  rest:  if  not,  I  shall 
soon  be  carried  to  my  rest  in  the  grave — I  preached  this 
morning,  (December  25th,)  to  the  coloured  people  in 
Sharpe-street,  and  the  word  came  w4th  great  power — we 
indeed  realized  the  hymn  w^e  had  been  singing  : 

'  O  would'st  thou  again  be  made  known. 

Again  in  thy  spirit  descend ! 

And  set  up  in  each  of  thine  own, 

A  kingdom  that  never  shall  end  ! 

Thou  only  art  able  to  bless, 

And  make  the  glad  nation?  obey  ; 

And  bid  the  dire  enmity  cease, 

And  bow  the  wliolc  world  to  thy  sway  1' 


UEV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  309 

The  poor  Africans  appeared  to  be  let  into  heavenly  places ; 
every  heart  was  full ! 

"  Sunday,  26th.  Heard  Mr.  Bascum  in  the  morning,  and 
preached  myself  in  the  afternoon,  at  Mr.  Nevins',  from 
1  Cor.  xvi.  22.    My  strength  now  seemed  entirely  gone ! 

"  Monday,  27th,  with  a  view  of  fulfilling  my  final  en- 
gagement for  this  year-,  imwell  as  I  was,  I  submitted  to  be 
carried  to  Mr.  Heiishaw's  church,  to  address  the  anniver- 
sary meeting  of  the  Yomig  Men's  Bible  Society.  During 
the  meeting  I  sat  in  great  pain,  and  as  soon  as  I  had  done, 
was  obliged  to  be  carried  home.  For  the  remainder  of  the 
week,  I  was  confined  to  the  house,  and  lost  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  sanctuary  services  with  wliich  the  old  year 
usually  closes  among  us." 


310 


MEMOIRS  OF  TH£ 


SECTiox  xvn. 

Extracts  from  Diary — letters — returns  to  New-  Y&rk — 
last  illness-<-death-bed  expressions — dies  in  the  Lord — 
public  sympathy— funeral — monumental  inscriptions. 

"  Towards  the  close  of  any  book  of  biography,  in 
which  we  have  been  peculiarly  interested,  there  is  some- 
thing of  apprehension  experienced,  as  we  approach  the 
last  pages  ;  we  know  the  catastrophe  which  consummates 
every  work  of  the  kind,  because  the  same  is  the  consum- 
mation of  every  human  Ufe.  Whose  heart  has  not  palpi- 
tated ?  whose  hand  has  not  trembled  as  if  it  felt  a  feebler 
pulse  at  turning  over  leaf  after  leaf?  and  whose  eye  has  not 
keenly,  eagerly,  yet  afraid  and  revoltingly,  glanced  on  to 
the  very  line  in  which  the  last  agony  is  described,  as 
though  it  saw  the  dying  look  of  one,  who  had  been  '  very 
pleasant  in  hfe,'  and  from  whom,  even  '  in  the  volume  of 
the  book,'  it  was  hard  to  be  divided  ?  Yea,  and  we  read, 
with  prophetic  anticipation,  the  record  of  the  last  moments 
of  our  endeared  companion,  as  one  warning  more  of  our 
own  being  so  much  the  nearer  than  when  we  first  became 
acquainted,  though  it  were  but  a  few  days  ago."*  The 

*  Montgomery's  Introduction  to  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Susan 
Huntington,  of  Boston. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD,  311 

foregoing  passage,  so  characteristic  of  the  authority  whence 
it  emanated,  is  not  more  striking  than  true ;  and  no  reader 
having  the  common  sensibihties  of  our  nature — especially 
if  those  sensibihties  are  refined  and  exalted  by  reUgion, 
pure  and  undefiled — can  have  proceeded  to  this  point  in 
the  affecting  narrative  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  earthly  course, 
without  feehng  something  of  the  touching  presentiment 
above  referred  to. 

We  perceive  with  certainty  how  soon  some  fondly  in- 
dulged hopes  will  be  disappointed,  and  how  shortly  and 
surely  some  forebodings  will  be  realized.  This  species  of 
knowledge  seems  almost  to  annihilate  the  scope  and  mdul- 
gence  of  anticipations,  that  owe  their  existence  to  that  un- 
certainty with  which  the  good  providence  of  God  has  so 
mercifully  overhung  the  exigencies  and  duration  of  every 
human  life.  As  the  final  period  advances,  the  incidents  of 
many  past  years  appear  to  crowd  their  recollections  into 
the  brief  remnant  of  weeks  or  days  that  are  behind  ;  and 
in  the  records  of  the  hfe  of  a  good  man,  the  memorials 
become  increasingly  precious  to  the  heart,  as  they  diminish 
in  bulk  to  the  eye — not  so  much  from  any  difference  in 
their  nature,  as  peculiarity  of  situation.  They  are,  as  it 
Avere,  the  key-stones  of  that  arch  of  existence,  whose  span 
extends  from  time  into  eternity,  either  segment  of  which — 
the  dimly  receding  past,  or  the  invisible  future — appear 
alike  to  owe  their  connexion,  if  not  their  stability,  to 
that  which  forms  the  point  of  contact. 


312 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


Under  the  date  of  February  11th,  1825,  Mr.  Summer- 
field,  weak  as  he  was,  and  yet  residing  at  Baltimore,  re- 
commenced his  diary.  "  I  am,"  says  he,  in  the  introduc- 
tory paragraph,  "  truly  a  mystery  to  myself!  The  old 
year  has  rolled  away,  and  the  new  year  is  fast  following 
it,  and  no  record  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  my  soul !  O 
tell  me  why — 

'  Wliy,  my  cold  heart,  art  thou  not  lost 
In  wonder,  love,  and  praise  !' 

The  temptation  of  postponing  all  attention  to  my  diary  to 
a  more  convenient  season,  still  haunts  me,  and  by  yielding 
thereto,  I  am  continually  brought  into  darkness.  My  af- 
fliction of  body  is  urged  as  a  reason ;  and  indeed  since  the 
year  commenced,  I  have  been  greatly  afflicted  :  but  then  I 
may  never  be  otherwise,  and  thus  while  vowing  for  to-mor- 
row, to-night  I  die  !  Painful,  then,  as  it  is  to  flesh  and 
blood,  I  am  resolved  again — yes,  again,  often  as  I  have 
done  it  before, — that,  God  being  my  helper, 

'  I'll  praise  Him  while  he  lends  me  breath  !' 

and  henceforward  record  from  time  to  time,  more  faithfully, 
what  he  hath  done  for  my  seul. 

My  mind  has  been  for  some  time  in  great  darkness ! 
I  seem  to  have  gone  clean  out  of  the  way ;  I  have  no  Ught. 
The  new  year  opened  propitiously  to  meyny,  but  ah  me  ! 


REV.  JOHN  SVMMERFIELD. 


313 


that  day  was  as  the  former."  Here  is  distress  and  fear 
again.  The  dark  lantern  of  the  body  often  obscures  the 
light  of  the  soul  clear  sliining  wathin,  so  that  it  is  hidden 
even  from  him  who  possesses  it — yet,  yet,  it  will,  it  will 
break  out  at  lucid  intervals,  and  cast  its  bright  beams,  not 
on  himself  alone  and  his  path,  but  upon  all  things  and 
persons  around  him. 

And  accordingly,  in  the  very  next  entry,  when  speaking 
of  preaching  in  Light-Street  Church,  from  1  Jolm  i.  9.  he 
says — "  Never  do  I  remember  to  have  been  more  greatly 
blessed  myself,  or  made  a  more  general  blessing  to  others  ; 
for  a  short  season,  even  all  that  day,  I  was  in  the  suburbs 
of  tlie  heavenly  city — O  that  I  could  have  remained  there 
without  ever  descending  !" 

January  31st.  This  is  my  birth-day.  Time  strikes  a 
solemn  knell  this  day  to  me ; — it  may  mean, '  this  year  thou 
shall  die .''  I  am  truly  surprised  that  I  am  so  Uttle  aUve  to 
this  interesting  season  ;  my  birth-day  was  always  an  un- 
conomon  event  in  my  estimation,  and  my  feelings  were  pe- 
cuhar — but  oh,  how  my  spirit  groans  beneath  a  cumbering 
load  of  weakness  and  affliction,  and  how  little  are  my  spiritual 
enjoyments  !    O  Lord  !  revive  thy  work  ! 

"February  6th.  Sunday.    I  preached  in  Eutaw-street 
Church,  on  'What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord,'  &c.  After- 
wards the  communion  was  administered  to  a  multitude 
beyond  any  number  I  ever  saw  in  that  solemn  ordinance ; 
2d  40 


314 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


the  serving  of  the  tables  occupied  an  hour  and  a  half— but 
O,  the  Master  was  there  !  and  the  spiiit  was  willing  and 
enabled  to  endure  the  fatigue. 

"  February  11th.  This  day  I  have  been  greatly  blessed 
in  reading  Wesley's  Sermons  on  the  Wilderness  iState,  and 
Heaviness  through  Manifold  Temptations.  My  clouds 
are  beginning  to  break  away  ;  I  have  determined  to  live 
nearer  to  God  than  ever,  that  hke  Him  I  may  know  no  dark- 
ness at  all !  Lord,  lift  thou  upon  me  the  light  of  thy  coun- 
tenance. 

"  February  13th.  Sunday.  Preached  this  morning  in 
Caroline-street  Church,  on  Isaiah  1.  10,  I  believe  it  was 
made  a  general  blessing.  This  evening  I  had  a  most  pro- 
fitable fire-side  conversation  with  the  kind  family  with  whom 
I  reside  ;  their  love  to  me  is  wonderful !  Lord,  remember 
them  for  good  ! 

"  February  14th.  Received  the  inteUigence  of  the  decease 
of  Brother  Ross  (of  New- York)  on  Thursday  evening  last ; 
he  was  interred  yesterday  afternoon.  Father  of  the  father- 
less !  remember  liis  orphans,  and  his  poor  affhcted  widow  ! 
One  of  the  Ughts  of  our  Church,  and  one  of  the  hopes 
of  our  Israel,  is  extinguished  in  this  event.  He  was  a  burn- 
ing and  a  shining  lamp  ! — And  I  am  yet  aUve  ! 

"Yesterday  afternoon  I  heard  a  profitable  discourse  fiom 
brother  Wells,  on '  Consider  one  another  to  provoke  to  love,' 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


315 


&,c.  His  remarks  on  the  words  '  consider  one  another,'  I 
hope  never  to  forget.  Consider  the  age, — the  constitutional 
temper, — the  educational  unpressions,  <fcc.  <fec.  O  if  we 
considered  one  another  more,  how  it  would  lead  us  tenderly 
to  cmition,  advise,  reprove  one  another  in  love  !  and  how 
httle  of  evil  speaking  would  there  be,  were  these  solemn 
words  always  impressed  on  us — '  with  what  measure  yo 
mete^  if'c. — God  will  fulfil  this  to  us  ;  'tis  awful !" 

This  was  the  final  entry  ;  the  last  string  of  the  breaking 
heart  seems  here  to  have  sounded  ;  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  this  is  a  caution  against  "  evil  speaking,"  of  which  he 
had  tasted  often  the  wormwood  and  the  gall,  even  among 
rehgious  people. 

[To  Mrs.  Bethmie,  of  New- York ;  wiitten  a  few  months 
after  the  death  of  her  husband.] 

"  Baltimore,  January  \^th,  1825. 
"  My  dear  Mrs.  Bethune, 

"  Must  not  suppose  for  one  moment,  that  my  silence 
for  so  long  a  time  has  aiisen  firom  any  abatement  in  ray 
affections,  or  forgetfulness  of  her  claims  upon  me.  I 
thank  God,  tliat  I  have  often  had  good  remembrance  of 
you  in  my  prayers  night  and  day,  and  often  have  com- 
mended you  to  Him  who  is  the  Judge  of  the  widow.  But 
truly  I  have  been  a  child  of  much  affliction,  and  though 
my  spirit  has  been  willing,  the  feeble  state  of  my  health 
has  retarded  me ;  not  that  the  bare  writing  of  a  letter  is  in 


316 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


itself  a  task  of  so  great  magnitude  under  any  circum- 
stances— but  the  mind  sympathizes  so  acutely  with  the 
'  weaker  vessel,'  as  to  render  it  at  times  ahnost  impossible 
to  surmount  its  sensibilities.  Some  time  ago,  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  H.,  and  therein  I  made  mention  of  you,  with  a  desire 
to  know  how  you  are  ?  and  where  you  are  ?  Mr.  H.  did 
kindly  favour-  me  with  a  few  lines  in  reply,  merely  to 
acknowledge  the  receipt  of  my  letter,  with  a  promise  to 
mite  at  full  length  in  a  few  days  :  those  few  days  are 
multiplied  into  many,  and  I  have  become  the  more  anxious 
on /tis  account  also  to  know  what  is  transpiring  among 
you  ;  for  '  God  is  my  record,  how  greatly  I  long  after  you 
all  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ !'  A  few  days  since  I 
dined  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.  a  son  of  the 
Doctor,  and  from  him  I  was  pleased  to  hear  a  favourable 
account  of  your  beloved  son  George,  and  that  he  manifests 
much  seriousness,  and  devotedness  to  the  sacred  character 
to  which  he  is  preparing  himself,  for  future  life.  O  is 
this  the  case  ?  I  wish  he  would  write  to  me.  I  keep  up  a 
sweet  correspondence  with  Princeton  College — but  strange 
to  say,  I  have  no  correspondent  in  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, although  I  sometimes  think  that  there  are  several 
youths  there  upon  whom  I  have  some  claim  to  be  remem- 
bered.* 


*  Most  gladly  was  this  request  complied  with  by  Mr.  G.  B., 
but  alas !  the  rapid  decline  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  health  did  not 
permit  him  to  reply. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


317 


"  I  trust  that  the  mellowing  hand  of  time  has  in  some  de- 
gree dried  up  the  tears  of  your  lonely  widowhood.  Whither 
he  is  gone,  '  you  know,  and  the  way  you  know ;'  he  shall 
not  return  to  you,  but  you  shaU  go  to  him  :  remember  the 
gulf  is  not  between  heaven  and  earth — but  heaven  and 
hell ;  and  now  that  he  is  absent  from  the  body,  he  is  present 
with  the  Lord ;  that  Lord  whom  he  loved  when  he  saw 
him  not,  and  whom  he  now  sees  face  to  face. 

'  Where  all  the  ship's  company  meet, 
Who  sailed  with  their  captain  beneath  !' 

And  oh,  my  God,  shall  /  be  there  ! — and  shall  you  be 
there  ?  yea,  saith  the  Spirit !  yea,  saith  the  Saviour,  for 
'  where  I  am  there  shall  my  servants  be  I'  yea,  saith  the 
Father,  '  It  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom  !'  Let  us  comfort  one  another  with  these  words, 
and  then  '  to  die  is  gain  !' 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  madam.  Give  my  love  to  our 
mutual  friends ;  and  believe  me  sincerely  and  affection- 
ately yours  in  christian  love, 

"JOHN  SUMMERFIELD." 

[To  THE  Rev.  Joseph  Tabor.] 

"  Baltimore,  January  I4th,  1825. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 
"  What  an  age  is  it  since  we  last  saw  each  other  t 
and  which  of  us  had  the  most  distant  idea  when  we 
2  D  2 


318 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


separated  [in  Ireland]  of  our  being  so  near  together  as  the 
space  between  Pittsburg  and  Baltimore!  [Then  occui- 
many  references  to  European  aflfairs,  in  which  they  were 
mutually  interested.] 

And  now  I  think  it  is  time  I  should  say  something 
about  yourself.  I  have  learned  with  regret  that  success  has 
not  attended  your  removal  to  this  country  according  to 
your  expectation  ;  you  know  how  opposed  I  was  to  it ; — 
however,  this  is  poor  comfort ;  nevertheless,  I  rejoice  to 
know  that  you  have  not  fallen  into  the  snare  of  too  many 
of  our  poor  Irish  brethren,  whom  I  have  met  with  in  Ca- 
nada, and  elsewhere,  who  have  in  the  same  proportion  as 
they  lost  ground  on  earth,  given  up  their  hope  of  heaven, 
and  departed  from  the  Uving  God  ! — I  trust  that  your 
mountain  still  stands  strong,  and  that  you  yet  ktiow  that 
you  have  in  heaven  a  better  and  an  enduring  substance. 
As  for  myself,  with  much  weakness  of  the  body,  with 
which  I  have  had  to  contend,  I  am  yet  honoured  with  a 
name  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem  ! — In  this  country  my 
labours  have  been  indeed  more  abundant,  and  I  have  not 
been  permitted  to  labour  alone  !  having  obtained  help  of 
God,  I  continue  unto  this  day.  My  soul  is  in  my  work,  and 
the  zeal  of  the  Lord's  house  is  as  a  fire  within  iTiy  bones ; — 
the  Lord  has  honoured  me  with  many  honours  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  has  taught  me  the  art  of  hanging  them  all 
as  trophies  on  the  Cross  of  Christ.  My  health  is  im- 
proving, and  I  pray  that  my  days  may  yet  be  lengthened 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD.  319 

out,  that  I  may  bear  witness  of  the  great  salvation  to 
cliildren  yet  unborn  !    Farewell,  my  dear  friend. 

"  Your's,  in  Christian  affection, 
J.  SUMMERFIELD." 

[Tlie  following  letter  was  written  to  the  widow  of  the 
late  lamented  George  Warner,  Esq.  who  died  on  the  1st 
of  Januarj',  1825,  known  and  beloved  by  thousands  in  the 
city  and  state  of  New- York,  of  whose  legislature  he  was 
for  many  years  a  member ;  and  who,  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  was  eminently  distinguished  for  his  zealous  and 
unceasing  exertions  in  the  cause  of  Cliiist.] 

"  Baltimore,  February  \5th,  1825. 
My  dear  Mi-s.  Warner  must  not  suppose,  that,  because 
I  have  not  broken  silence  until  now,  I  had  no  sympathy 
with  her  under  her  late  bereavement.  Job's  friends  '  sat 
by  his  side  upon  the  ground  seven  days  and  seven  nights, 
and  none  spake  a  word  unto  him ;  for  they  saw  that  his 
jiief  was  very  great.'  But  then  surely  there  is  a  fit  time 
IV hen  the  '  minister  of  peace'  should  break  the  seal  of  his 
commission,  and  fulfil  its  mandate,  '  comfort  ye,  comfort  ye 
ny  people,  saith  your  God  !'  It  would  indeed  be  imperti- 
lent  in  any  other  than  the  '  Prince  of  life,'  who  was  about 
0  give  back  to  the  disconsolate  widow  her  greatest  eai'thly 
reasure,  to  say  '  weep  not ;' — oh  no  !  it  is  permitted  to  us 
0  weep,  and  even  to  sorrow  many  days ; — but  then  '  let 
13  not  sorrow  as  do  others  ;  for  if  we  believe  that  Jesus 
lied  and  rose  again,  even  so  also,  them  that  sleep  in  Jesus 


320  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 

shall  God  bring  with  him ;'  '  he  is  not  dead  then,  but  sleep- 
ethf  and  Jesus  will  yet  awake  him  out  of  sleep.  He  has 
long  known  that  his  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  in  the  lat- 
ter day,  He  should  stand  again  upon  the  earth  and  see 
Hun  eye  to  eye, — Him  whom  he  loved,  though  he  saw 
Him  not,  and  in  whom  he  long  rejoiced  with  joy  unspeaka- 
ble and  full  of  glory. 

"  Oh  how  I  should  have  desired  to  have  been  with  him, 
when  the  shadows  of  time  were  flitting  away,  and  the 
glories  of  eternity  bursting  upon  his  open  vision  !  O  how 
I  should  have  longed  to  have  witnessed  in  him,  with  what 
peace  a  christian  can  die  !  T  might  have  learned  a  lesson 
which  is  now  lost  to  me  for  ever.  But  yoti  witnessed  it : 
nay,  you  were  the  witness  of  his  life,  which  was  a  daily 
lesson ;  the  last  chapter  of  which  might  be  summed  up 
in  one  line,  '  I  live, — yet  not  I, — ^but  Christ  liveth  in  me.' 
He  felt  that  for  him  to  hve  was  Christ, — but  now  he  finds 
'  that  to  die,  is  gain.^  Happy  soul !  thy  days  are  ended. 
He  will  not  return  to  us,  but  we  shall  go  to  hun ;  he  has 
gained  the  prize  before  us  ;  but  then,  although  we  have  it 
not  as  yet,  '  there  is  laid  up  for  us  a  crowTi  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord  will  give  at  that  day.'  And  though 
we  should  long  be  kept  out  of  the  possession  of  it,  rust 
will  not  corrupt  it ;  it  is  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away  !  Oh  that  you,  and  yours,  may  gain  the  blissful 
shore  as  safely  as  he  has  done,  without  any  shipwreck  of 
faith  and  of  a  good  conscience  !  and  oh,  my  God  !  remem- 
her  me !  When  your  feelings  will  permit,  I  should  be  glad 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  321 

(o  hear  some  particulars  of  the  last  moments  of  my  much 
beloved  and  never-to-be-forgotten  friend.  He  was  among 
the  first  of  my  friendships  in  New-York,  both  as  to  my 
early  acqiiamtance  with  him,  and  the  value  I  placed  upon 
his  disinterested  kindness  to  me  ! — I  am  bereaved  mdeed ; 
one  after  another  is  summoned  away,  and  I  am  left  to  heai 
tales  of  woe.  It  sounds  Uke  a  knell  unto  myself,  '  be  ye 
also  ready,  for  at  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of 
man  cometh.^  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  and  may  He 
who  knows  how  to  comfort  them  that  are  in  trouble,  pouv 
in  the  oil  and  the  wine  into  your  broken  bleeding  heart. 

"  Your's  in  the  Lord, 

«J.  SUMMERFIELD." 

In  the  month  of  March,  1825,  Mr.  Summerfield  return- 
ed from  Baltimore  to  New-York,  in  consequence  of  the 
alarming  indisposition  of  his  father  ;  on  his  arrival  at  the 
latter  city,  he  fully  expected  soon  to  be  called  upon  to  close 
the  eyes  of  his  beloved  parent,  at  whose  bedside  he  re- 
mained day  after  day,  Uttle  calculating  upon  the  mournful 
alternative,  which  in  the  order  of  providence  was  soon  to 
take  place. 

At  this  time,  while  he  was  residing  with  his  family  in 
the  country  about  four  miles  from  New- York,  a  physician 
who  called  to  pay  hun  a  friendly  visit,  observing  his  deUcate 
state  of  health,  and  beUeving  the  situation  was  too  cold 
for  him,  ordered  him  to  the  town.  He  accordingly  remo- 
ved to  the  house  of  his  kind  friend  Dr.  Beekman,  in  the 
41 


322 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


city,  where  he  was  confined  to  his  room  and  bed  about  a 
month,  after  which  he  go  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  occa- 
sionally to  ride  or  walk  out.  During  this  short  interval 
of  temporary  convalescence,  he  was  employed,  with  several 
of  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  of  diflferent  denominations, 
in  the  formation  of  The  Amercan  i  r  vct  Society,  of 
whose  comrnittee  he  was  a  member.  His  last  pubbc  act 
was  an  address  at  the  first  meeting  of  this  flourishing 
Society,*  about  a  month  before  his  death.    A  few  days 

*  The  day  after  (Thursday)  was  the  anniversary  of  the  Ame- 
rican Bible  Society.  Mr.  Summerfield,  with  several  distinguished 
strangers  and  members  of  the  Society,  was  invited  to  dine  with  his 
esteemed  and  highly  respected  friend,  the  Rev.  Doctor  Milnor. 
This  invitation  occasioned  the  Ibllowing  note,  in  which  there  is  a 
peculiar  interest,  when  we  reflect  that  it  was  the  last  he  ever 
wrote  !  On  the  Monday  succeeding,  he  took  to  his  bed. — /.  B. 

[To  THE  Rev.  Doctor  Milnor.] 

"  May  mh,  1825. 

"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, 
"  In  the  anticipated  pleasure,  which  your  invitation  to  din- 
ner to  day  inspired,  'memory  lost  her  seat  ;'  I  forgot  that  my 
diet  is  simply  bread  and  milk,  and  that  I  had  not  tasted  animal 
food  of  any  kind  for  some  months. 

"At  your  table  I  know  I  should  see  '  as  it  were  a  great  sheet 
let  down  at  the  four  corners,  containing'  '  all  that  was  plea- 
sant for  food — but  then  no  accompanying  voice  would  address 
me,  '  arise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat.' — Unwilling,  therefore,  to  appear 
singular,  and  fearing  it  might  put  you  to  inconvenience,  I  beg  of 
you  to  excuse  me,  till  we  can  enjoy  '  all  things  in  common.' 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


323 


tifter  this,  he  went  to  pay  his  father,  who  had  in  some  de- 
gree recovered  from  his  attack,  a  visit  prior  to  his  return 
to  Baltimore — and  httle  did  he  or  his  father  think  that  this 
would  be  the  last  time  they  should  see  each  other  in  thejlesh  ! 
On  this  very  day  his  physician  was  consulted  with  respect 
to  his  intended  journey  ;  he  apprehended  from  appearan- 
ces, that  amidst  a  comphcation  of  complaints,  his  most  for- 
jTiidable  disease  was  a  dropsy ;  this  unexpected  diagnosis 
was  fully  confirmed,  when  next  day  he  took  to  his  bed — 
never  again  to  rise  from  it ! 

During  this  last  sickness,  such  was  the  violence  of  the 
disease,  and  the  consequent  effect  of  the  anodynes  which 
were  necessarily  administered,  that  he  had  but  few  lucid 
intervals.  Notwithstanding  this,  his  ideas  were  at  times 
exceedingly  sublime  ;  obscured  as  they  frequently  were 
by  the  inability  to  express  fully  what  he  meant  to  convey. 
The  bent  of  his  mind  was  very  evident ;  the  leading 
features  of  his  remarks  were,  the  glory  of  the  church  ! — 
the  prosperity  of  Zion  .' — themes  upon  which  he  had  dwelt 
with  delight,  while  in  health.  "  The  glory  of  the  church  ! 
the  glory  of  the  church  of  New- York  !"  he  exclaimed  : 
"  her  walls  shall  be  salvation  and  her  gates  praise  !"'  He 


"  I  could  not  make  my  way  ii 
or  I  would  have  spoken  to  you. 

"  With  kind  regard  to  Mrs.  M- 
ately,  yours, 


the  City  Hotel  this  morning, 
-,  believe  me,  very  affection- 
«J.  SUMMERFIELD." 


Thursday,  3  o^cIock.'" 


324 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


attempted  to  illustrate  the  union  subsisting  between  Bible 
and  Missionary  Societies,  by  the  most  chaste  and  beautiful 
metaphors.  One  morning,  while  enduring  great  bodily 
pain,  he  exclaimed, 

"  Cease,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  strife, 
Let  me  languish  into  life !" 

Throughout  this  severe  illness,  his  mind  generally  ap- 
peared engaged  about  heavenly  things :  on  a  subsequent 
morning,  he  drew  the  bed  curtains  aside,  and  said  to  a 
friend  who  stood  by — "  Shew  me  the  throne  !  where  is  the 
throne?"  He  would  often  speak  on  the  fellowship  of 
saints  ;  and  sometimes,  he  appeared  engaged  at  a  sacra- 
mental feast. 

In  a  conversation  wliich  took  place  about  ten  days  after 
he  was  laid  sick,  he  remarked  to  his  kind  friend  Mrs. 
Doctor  Beekman,  that  her  "  infirmity  of  body  was  not 
less  than  his  own ;  but,"  continued  he,  "  had  you  my 
mental  sufferings  to  contend  with,  in  addition  to  your 
weakness  of  body, — perhaps  you  would  hardly  bear  it." 
— He  expressed  a  great  desire  to  be  raised  again,  if  it  were 
the  will  of  God—"  affliction,"  said  he,  "  is  not  joyous, — 
but  grievous;  for  example,  even  Christ  himself  prayed, 
that  if  it  be  possible,  '  let  this  cup  pass  from  me " — After  a 
pause,  he  emphatically  said,  "  JSTevertheless,  not  my  will,  but 
thine  be  done  .'"  A  deep  sense  of  his  unworthiness  seemed 
to  oppress  his  mind :  "  having  hved  so  long,"  he  said,  "  and 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERPIELD.  325 

to  SO  little  pui-pose  :  oh  !"  he  added,  "  if  I  might  be  raised 
again — how  I  could  preach  !  I  could  preach  as  I  never 
preached  before — /  have  taken  a  look  into  eternity  /"  Dur- 
ing tliis  conversation,  the  distressing  hiccup,  from  which 
he  had  had  little  or  no  relief  for  some  days  and  nights, 
was  converted  into  a  most  affecting  sob.  On  its  being  re- 
marked to  him  that  he  suffered  himself  to  be  too  much 
cast  down  by  this  deep  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness, — 
as  he  expressed  himself, — a  friend  spoke  to  him  of  the 
numbers  that  had  been  blessed  under  his  ministry,  some 
of  whom  were  themselves  preaching  the  gospel,  and  others 
promising  fair  to  commence  the  work  in  due  time ;  besides 
many  of  whom  we  shall  never  hear.  "  Oh  !"  he  replied, 
"  say  nothing  on  that  subject :"  and  then  he  sobbed  out, 
'•  Well  !  1  have  been  a  labourer  for  seven  years :"  he 
paused  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  with  emphasis  added, 
'•  bless  God  !  I  have  at  least  served  an  appi  enticeship ;" 
after  a  little  time  taken  to  recover  himself,  he  contmued, 
"  I  know  not  how  it  will  end  with  me — in  this  sickness, 
death  is  not  so  near  to  me,  as  I  could  wish  it  to  be — were 
this  to  be  my  last  sickness  :"  raising  his  hand,  he  said,  "  I 
vdsh  to  have  eternity  brought  before  me  as  near  to  my 
view  as  that ;  (looking  at  his  hand ;)  this  not  being  the 
case,  I  have  thought  it  a  presentiment  that  God  will  again 
raise  me :  'tis  singular  to  remark,"  continued  he,  "  that 
the  last  time  I  sat  down  to  prepare  a  sermon,  my  muad 
w£is  led  to  these  words — '  Having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better ;'  the  sermon  just  filled 
up  the  last  volume  of  my  sermons,  and  after  closing  the 
2e 


326 


MEMOrRS  OF  THE 


book,  I  was  led  to  make  use  of  these  words — '  my  work 
is  doner — yet  if  it  were  God's  will,  I  should  like  to 
preach  it !" 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  here,  that  during  his  severe 
illness  of  1822,  when  in  Philadelphia,  and  when  no  hope 
was  entertained  of  his  recovery,  that  this  text  of  scripture 
was  much  upon  his  mind — "  Having  a  desire  to  depart, 
and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better — nevertheless,  to 
abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for  you."  After  dweUing 
upon  this  for  some  time,  the  latter  part  of  the  text — 
"  Nevertheless  to  abide,"  &c.  was  so  fixed  on  his  mind, 
that  he  said  to  a  friend  in  a  confident  manner,  "  this  sick- 
ness is  not  unto  death."  The  same  friend  being  with  him 
a  night  during  his  last  illness,  while  in  conversation,  Mr. 
Summerfield  said — "  Thomas,  do  you  remember  I  told 
you  in  Philadelphia  how  much  those  words — '  Having  a 
desire  to  depart,^  Sec.  were  impressed  upon  my  mind? 
you  recollect  with  what  confidence  I  informed  you  that  I 
should  recover,  from  the  latter  part  of  the  text  fastening 
upon  me  in  so  peculiar  a  manner,  '  Nevertheless,  to  abide 
in  the  flesh,'  &c.  ? — Now,"  continued  he,  "it  is  reversed ; 
the  latter  part  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  ;  the  former  is  alto- 
gether on  my  mmd." 

On  one  occasion,  when  a  cup  was  handed  to  him  to 
take  a  drink,  he  looked  round  upon  his  friends,  many  of 
whom  surrounded  his  bed,  and  smiling  upon  them  severally, 
he  said : — 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


327 


"  On  you,  on  me,  on  all  be  given, 

The  bread  of  life,  which  comes  from  heaven." 

About  ten  days  before  his  death,  he  was  visited  by  his 
much  esteemed  friend,  Bishop  Soule.  The  interview  was 
a  most  affecting  one.  He  had  just  obtained  reUef  from 
very  violent  suffering.  When  the  Bishop  entered  the  room, 
he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  him ;  tlie  Bishop  look  him  by  the 
hand.  For  a  few  seconds  they  silently  gazed  upon  each  other, 
when  the  Bishop  said,  "  I  trust,  John,  all  is  peace." — Being 
much  overcome,  and  after  giving  vent  to  his  feelings,  the 
suffering  saint  replied,  "  /  have  a  hope  of  which  I  trust  I  need 
not  be  ashamed."  The  Bishop  put  up  a  most  fervent  petition, 
to  which  Mr.  Summerfield  responded  in  a  deeply  devout 
manner.  When  the  prayer  was  concluded,  he  said,  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  all  within  me  shouts  his  praise;"  he  added, 
"  great  is  the  weakness  of  my  body."  The  Bishop  ob- 
served, "  WeU,  my  dear  brother,  you  have  been  doing  the 
will  of  the  Lord,  now  you  are  suffering — so  that  in  doing 
and  suffering,  you  are  serving  the  Lord."  To  which  he 
rephed,  "  I  bless  God ! — the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done." 
Then  taking  a  valedictory  salutation,  he  said,  "  Bishop, 
farewell !  if  I  do  not  meet  you  again  on  earth,  meet  me  in 
heaven !" 

At  another  time,  he  said,  "  I  doubt  not  but  many  will 
expect  a  dying  testimony,  but  I  know  not  how  this  may  be 
with  me  ;  I  would,  however,  give  the  answer  of  Whitfield 
to  a  female  friend  :  when  she  asked  him  what  his  dying 


328 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


testimony  would  be,  Whitfield  replied,  he  had  preached 
Christ,  a  living  testimony." 

A  few  days  before  he  breathed  his  last,  he  had  been 
taking  a  little  porter  and  water,  when  he  requested  that  no 
anodyne  might  be  administered  whenever  it  should  appear 
that  the  time  of  his  dissolution  was  approaching.  "  Admi- 
nister nothing,"  said  he,  "  that  will  create  a  stupor,  not  even 
so  much  as  a  little  porter  and  water,  as  I  wish  to  be  per- 
fectly collected,  so  that  I  may  have  an  unclouded  vfeic." 
"  Oh  !"  said  he,  "  I  fear  not  so  much  the  consequences  of 
death,  but  nature's  last  struggle — flesh  shrinks,  when  we 
contemplate  that — when  the  spirit  is  separated  from  the 
body,  it  stands,  it  stands,  after  the  dislodgement,  trembling 
and  quivering — Oh  !  it  is  that,  it  is  that  convulsive  struggle 
which  harasses  the  mind  !"  On  being  told  there  would  be 
grace  sufficient,  he  replied,  "  Well — yes — well — all  is  welV^ 

After  expressing  his  obligations  in  the  most  affectionate 
manner  to  all  his  friends,  many  of  whom  he  named,  and 
remarked  on  something  peculiar  in  each  of  them,  he  spoke 
of  one  for  whom  he  felt  more  than  common  interest.  "  Oh," 
said  he,  "  how  much  that  dear  friend  has  been  the  subject 
of  my  prayers  !  With  respect  to  the  things  of  this  Ufe,  my 
God  will  reward  him — I  believe  he  will  never  lack  ui  the 
store  nor  in  the  basket — 1  trust  he  will  meet  me  in  glory — 
this  is  the  subject  of  my  prayers  for  him."  He  then  said 
to  his  sister  Blackstock — "  Ellen,  my  dear,  we  have  been 
much  separated  ;  we  have  not  seen  much  of  each  other ; 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  329 

my  time  has  been  greatly  occupied  without  nay  being  able 
to  enjoy  much  of  your  society — but  absence  has  never 
banished  you  from  my  mind  ;  God  is  my  record  that  you 
£ire  daily  borne  in  the  arms  of  faith  to  the  footstool  of  his 
mercy — I  plead  tliere  for  each  one  of  you  by  name." 

Witliin  the  last  three  days  of  his  hfe,  he  appeared  to  be 
no  stranger  to  approaching  dissolution.  On  the  11th  of 
June,  he  requested  that  his  sister  would  have  mourning  pre- 
pared. The  day  before  he  died,  he  wished  to  change  liis 
position  in  bed  :  he  pointed  toward  the  bedside,  and  spoke 
of  the  grave — he  W'as  at  the  same  time  exceedingly  rest- 
less, and  said,  "  I  wish  for  a  change  ;" — when  asked  w' hat 
he  meant,  he  rephed,  "  I  want  a  change,  a  change  of  form — 
a  change  of  every  thing."  Among  his  last  articulate  ex- 
pressions, was  an  attempt  to  quote  a  passage  of  scripture 
which  he  left  unfinished.  It  was  delivered  with  much 
hesitancy  — "  Al — though — sin — has— entered — "  Shortly 
afterwards  he  called  his  brother  to  his  bedside,  took  his 
hand,  and  requested  that  he  would  stay  by  him. 

About  five  o'clock  on  the  evening  preceding  his  death, 
he  called  out  in  a  surprisingly  audible  voice  for  his  sisters, 
each  by  name — "  Anne ;-'  being  told  that  she  was  not 
there,  he  called  "  AmeUa" — she  was  also  absent,  attending 
her  afflicted  father ;  he  then  called  "  Ellen,"  his  eldest 
sister,  who  was  present.  She  took  him  by  the  hand,  and 
reminded  him  of  the  necessary  absence  of  his  sisters  :  he 
42 


330 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


replied,  "  Well — tell  Amelia — tell  Anne — tell  them — all's 

PERFECTION." 

In  the  course  of  the  evening,  his  sister,  thinking  that  he 
was  much  more  comfortable  than  he  had  been  for  a  few 
days  past,  (little  did  she  think  he  was  so  near  his  end  !) 
embraced  the  opportunity  of  visiting  her  anxious  parent, 
who  was  confined  to  his  bed  in  the  country.  She  returned 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  with  a  message  from  hun 
to  his  darling  son.  She  said,  "John,  my  dear,  your  father 
sends  his  love  to  you  :  he  desired  me  to  say,  that  you  are 
the  subject  of  his  prayers  night  and  day" — to  which  he 
made  no  reply  ;  his  eyes  appeared  fixed,  but  there  was 
no  apprehension  of  his  immediate  death.  She  added, 
"  John,  my  love,  is  that  right  ?"  He  answered,  "  Certainly, 
oh  !  certainly."  Observing  that  liis  cough  was  very  trou- 
blesome, she  said,  "  My  dear  John,  you  must  have  taken 
cold  from  the  windows  being  open  :"  he  said,  "  very  possi- 
ble." She  then  gave  him  a  drink,  which  was  his  last,  as 
she  was  about  to  retire  to  rest  for  a  few  hours.  She  gave 
him  a  kiss,  and  said,  "  good  night,"  to  which  he  repUed. 
"  good  night .'" — these  were  his  last  icords. 

From  this  time  until  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
he  appeared  in  a  comfortable  sleep,  when  a  change  was 
first  discovered  to  have  taken  place  ;  his  friends  were  then 
collected,  and  remained  around  his  bed,  until,  without  a 
groan,  or  one  convulsive  struggle,  his  spirit  departed  at 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


331 


twelve  minutes  past  eleven  in  the  forenoon  of  the  13th  of 
June,  1825. 

Thus  hved,  and  thus  died,  John  Summerfield  ;  a  man 
whose  name  is  not  only  written  "  in  the  Lamb's  book  of 
life,"  and  his  piety  recorded  on  iiigh  ; — but  one,  the  fra- 
grant memorial  of  whose  virtues  deserves  to  be  cherished 
by  the  church  below,  as  exhibiting  in  a  high  degree  the 
spirit  wliich  characterized  his  evangelical  namesake,  men- 
tioned in  the  gospel — even  "that  other  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved." 

The  sensation  wliich  the  news  of  this  event  produced, 
wherever  the  deceased  preacher  had  been  known,  was 
deep  and  general ;  and  testimonies  of  his  piety,  his  elo- 
quence, and  the  attractiveness  of  his  entire  character,  im- 
mediately appeared  m  many  of  the  newspapers  of  the 
United  States.  To  have  transcribed  ihese  spontaneous 
effusions  of  respect — in  many  instances,  the  more  valua- 
ble as  coming  from  individuals  not  to  be  supposed  to  have 
any  favourable  predilections  toward  the  body  to  which  Mr. 
Summerfield  belonged — would  have  been  a  pleasing  task; 
but  that  w'hich  constitutes  a  chief  excellency  of  the  docu- 
ments in  question,  forms  at  the  same  time  one  mam  objec- 
tion to  their  repetition  in  this  place : — they  are  almost 
imiformly  couched  in  language  at  once  laudatory  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased,  and  honourable  to  the  feeUng  of 
the  writers,  while  the  choicer  epithets  and  illustrations 
which  they  contain,  are  not  unfrequently  implicated  with 


332 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


obituary  notices  of  considerable  length.  Collectively, 
therefore,  they  would  occupy  more  space,  and  present  less 
variety,  than  might  be  deemed  compatible  with  the  design 
of  the  present  work. 

On  Tuesday,  the  14th  of  June,  the  funeral  took  place. 
The  procession  being  formed,  moved  from  Dr.  Beekman's 
house  in  Courtland-street,  at  a  quarter  past  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  in  the  order  following: — Members  of  the 
Young  Men's  Missionary  Society,  of  which  Mr.  Summer- 
field  was  President — Ministers  of  various  denominations, 
six  of  whom  were  pall  bearers — the  mourners,  and  a  long 
train  of  the  friends  of  the  deceased.  The  streets  through 
which  the  procession  passed,  were  greatly  crowded  ;  a 
degree  of  seriousness  marked  every  countenance  ;  indeed 
the  pubhc  sympathy  could  hardly  have  manifested  itself 
more  than  it  did  on  this  occasion  :  the  loss  of  a  great  and 
good  man  appeared  to  be  sensibly  felt  by  all  classes  of  the 
community. 

Arriving  at  John-street,  the  corpse  was  taken  into  the  Me- 
thodist church,  which  was  filled  to  overflowing;  an  eloquent 
and  impressive  discourse  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  T. 
Bkch ;  and  the  service  concluded  by  a  solemn  and  affect- 
ing prayer  from  the  Rev.  Henry  Chase.  The  procession 
was  then  again  formed,  and  proceeded  to  the  steamboat 
ferry  ;  where  it  crossed  over  to  Brooklyn,  Long-Island  : 
here  the  corpse  was  again  taken  into  the  Methodist  church, 
when  the  Rev.  Nathan  Bangs  read  the  15th  chapter  of 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


333 


1  Corinthians,  and  concluded  by  reading  the  burial  ser- 
vice, after  which  the  body  w  as  silently  committed  to  the 
grave.  His  voice,  while  hving,  had  often  been  heard  in 
this  temple,  and  there  "  his  body,  precious  even  in  death, 
sleeps  near  the  spot  where  the  doctrines  of  the  Christieui 
denomination  to  which  he  was  attached  were  first  preached 
in  America  : — there,  it  will  await  that  morning  of  which 
he  loved,  when  hving,  to  speak,  and  of  which  he  some- 
times spoke  ux  entrancing  language — the  morning  of  the 
resurrection." 

The  tombstone  over  the  grave  of  Summerfield  bears 
the  following  luminous  inscription,  wTitten  by  the  Rev. 
J.  N.  Dajiforth,  of  Newcastle,  a  minister  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  ; 

Sacred  to  the  Memory 
of 

THE  REV.  JOHN  SUMIVIERFIELD,  A.  M. 
^t.  27. 

A  Preacher,  of  the  Methodist  Connexion,  bom 
in  England — bom  again  in  Ireland ; 
by  the  first  a  child  of  genius,  by  the  second  a  child  of  God 
called  to  preach  the  Gospel  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
^  In  Ireland,  England,  and  America, 

himself 

the  spiritual  Father  of  a  numerous  and  happy  family. 

At  this  Tomb, 
Genius,  Eloquence,  and  Religion,  mingle  their  tears. 


334 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


Holy  in  life,  ardent  in  love,  and  incessant  in  labour, 
he  was 

to  the  Church  a  pattern,  to  sinful  men  an  angel  of  mercy ; 
to  the  world  a  blessing. 
In  him  were  rarely  combined 
gentleness  and  energy  of  character  ; 
by  the  one  attracting  universal  love, 
by  the  other  diffusing  happiness  around  him. 
Singular  sweetness  and  simplicity  of  manners, 
inimitable  eloquence  in  the  pulpit, 
natural,  graceful,  and  fervent, 
rendered  him 

the  charm  of  the  social  circle,  and  the  idol  of  the  popular  assembly. 
Upon  the  lips  that  moulder  beneath  this  marble, 
thousands  hung  in  silent  wonder : 
his  element  was  not  the  breath  of  fame,  but 
the  communion  and  favour  of  God. 
He  closed  a  scene  of  patient  suffering,  and  slept  in  Jesus,  in  the 
city  of  New- York,  on  the  13th  day  of  June,  1825. 
By  faith  he  Uved  on  earth ; 

in  hope  he  died ; 
by  love  he  lives  in  heaven. 

Besides  the  above  memorial,  another  monument  has 
been  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  the  lamented  Summer- 
field.  This  is  a  beautiful  cenotaph,  which  the  Young 
Men's  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Church,  has 
erected  to  commemorate  the  virtues  of  their  late  President, 
and  their  love  for  him.  It  was  executed  by  Messrs.  Dixon 
and  Oatwell,  and  is  placed  in  the  front  of  the  church  in 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


335 


John-Street,  near  the  western  comer.  The  tablet  is  of  black 
marble,  finely  polished,  in  the  shape  of  a  cone,  and  insert- 
ed in  the  wall  of  the  church.  Near  the  base  of  this,  an 
urn  is  affixed,  standing  upon  a  pedestal,  with  a  few  vo- 
lumes of  books  on  either  side.  From  one  side  of  the 
urn  a  mantle  hangs  Aown  in  graceful  folds,  and  at  the 
right  of  it  is  a  scroll  hjilf  unrolled.  These  are  elegantly 
sculptured  from  a  block  of  very  fine  and  beautifid  white 
marble.  Upon  the  tablet  in  the  centre,  the  following 
tribute,  from  the  pen  of  Bishop  Soule,  is  inscribed : — 

SACRED 

to  the  Memory  of  the 
REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD,  A.  M. 

"  A  burning  and  a  shining  light." 
He  commenced  his  ministerial  labours  in  the  connexion 
of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  Ireland : 
but  employed  the  last  four  years  of  his  life 
in  the  itinerant  ministry 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
His  mind  was  stored  with  the  treasures  of  science. 
From  a  child  he  knew  the  holy  scriptures. 
Meekness  and  humility, 
united  with  extraordinary  intellectual  powers, 
exhibited  in  his  character  a  model 
of  christian  and  ministerial  excellence. 
His  perception  of  truth  was  clear  and  comprehensive ; 
his  language  pure, 
and  his  action  chaste  and  simple. 


336 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


The  learned  and  the  illiterate  attended  his  ministry 
with  admiration, 
and  felt  that  his  preaching  was 
in  the  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and  of  power. 
Distinguished  by  the  patience  of  hope, 
and  the  labour  of  love, 
he  finished  his  course  in  peace  and  triumph. 
Born  in  Preston,  England,  Jan.  31st,  179S. 
Died  in  this  city,  June  13th,  1825. 


Beneath  the  tablet,  upon  the  base  of  the  black  marble 
ground  work,  is  the  following  inscription : — 

"  This  monument  was  erected  by  the  'Young  Men's  Missionary 
Society,'  of  which  the  deceased  was  President,  with  sincere 
prayer  that  the  ardour  of  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Missions  may 
live  in  his  successors,  when  this  marble  shall  moulder  into  dust." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


337 


SECTION  XVIII. 

Geixeral  concluding  observations. 

The  foregoing  narrative  will,  it  may  be  presumed,  have 
but  httle  ambiguity,  as  to  most,  if  any  parts,  of  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield's  character  and  proceedings.  Open,  indeed,  and 
transparent  as  were  all  his  actions,  there  are  no  difficulties 
to  be  reconciled,  no  doubts  to  be  cleared  away ;  and  happily 
it  may  with  equal  truth  be  added,  that  so  obviously  and 
continually  was  the  spiritual  purity  of  his  motives  reflected 
in  his  private  as  well  as  public  life,  that  candour  does  not 
impose  on  his  biographer  the  ungracious  task  of  seeking,  by 
extenuation  or  apology,  to  colour  a  single  particular  of  his 
ministerial  career.  If  apology  be  necessary  in  any  quarter, 
the  present  writer  feels  that  it  is  rather  due  from  liimself  to 
those  venerable  men,  ministers  and  others,  who  may  hap- 
pen to  peruse  these  pages,  for  his  remarks  incidentally 
made  on  the  details  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  religwus 
experience. 

This  is  delicate  ground,  and  the  writer  trusts  he  has 
trodden  it  as  delicately,  as  circumspectly,  and  at  the  same 
time,  as  scriptuirally,  and  methodistically,  as  possible.  The 
2  P  43 


338 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


susceptible  subject  of  these  memoirs  undoubtedly  received  i 
in  Ireland,  that  clear  sense  of  pardon,  justification,  and  ac-  1 1 
ceptance  with  God,  to  which  he  ever  afterwards  referred  I 
as  his  spiritual  birth ;  and  yet,  in  the  further  and  future  I 
work  of  sanctification,  the  hght  of  spiritual  illumination  in 
him  (whatever  may  have  been  the  case  in  others)  did  not 
uninterruptedly  shine  "  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  i 
day  ;"  but  clouds  and  darkness  frequently  intercepted  the  1 
rays  of  that  sun  of  righteousness,  which  had  so  evidently  a 
arisen  on  his  soul.    Indeed,  the  Lord  seems  to  have  led  t 
his  servant,  not  with  the  shadow  by  day,  and  the  glory  by  e 
night,  of  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  but  alternately  amidst  s 
perpetual  natural  gloom,  presenting  to  him  the  light  of  the  g 
flame  that  cheered  the  Israelites  on  the  verge  of  the  Red  j  r 
sea,  and  the  darkness  behind,  that  frowned  upon  the  Egyp- 
tians, their  pursuers.  But  God,  who  is  "  love,"  was  equally  ! 
present  in  the  splendour  and  the  terror  to  him — in  the  i 
hidings  as  in  the  revealings  of  his  face — and  by  that  mys-  ti 
terious  dispensation,  we  cannot  doubt,  led  him,  as  the  best 
mode  of  guidance,  tluough  the  sea  and  the  wilderness, 
over  Jordan  to  Canaan  and  Jerusalem,  which  is  above.  p 

hi 

Perhaps  the  movement  least  explicitly  accounted  for,  i 

especially  as  to  the  suddenness  of  it,  may  be  Mr.  Summer-  ■» 
field's  emigration  from  Ireland  to  America.    I  have  re- 

seiTed  for  this  place,  in  preference  to  interrupting  the  nar-  p 

rative  elsewhere,  the  introduction  of  a  passage  from  his  -  k 
diary,  written  at  Marseilles,  in  February,  1823.  After 
some  solemn  reflections  upon  his  removal  from  Europe,  and 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIEI.D. 


339 


settlement  in  the  "  new  world,"  which  he  observes  will 
not  only  operate  upon  the  whole  of  his  future  exis- 
tence in  time,  but  with  respect  to  himself,  run  into  eternity, 
he  proceeds : 

"  Circumstances  of  various  kinds,  and  a  strange  coinci- 
dence of  events,  which  could  only  be  resolved  into  the 
leadings  of  a  providential  hand,  fully  confii  med  in  ray  dear 
and  honoured  father,  a  conviction  he  had  long  experienced, 
that  America  was  henceforward  to  become  our  home.  My 
eldest  sister's  having  married  and  removed  to  that  country, 
several  years  before,  had  always  since  that  time  been  re- 
garded by  him  as  an  tamest,  or  rather  a  pledge,  that  the 
removal  of  the  whole  family  would  succeed  sooner  or  later. 

"Having  in  the  auturrm  of  1820  finished  his  engage- 
ment as  the  manager  of  a  certain  establishment  in  the 
city  of  Cork,  and  finding  no  opening  into  which  he  might 
enter  in  that  city,  and  thereby  provide  things  honest  in  the 
sight  of  all  men — although  he  sought  for  it  with  all  dili- 
gence, connected  with  incessant  prayer  by  night  and  day — 
he  paused,  and  began  to  consider  this  as  the  time  to  which 
he  had  so  long  looked  forward.  Having  exercised  the 
strictest  economy  over  all  his  domestic  concerns,  since 
his  engagement  in  that  city,  and  thereby  recruited  his  im- 
poverished circumstances,  he  now  found  that  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  the  means,  and  but  barely  the  means,  of  transport- 
ing us  to  the  United  States ;  and  fearing  that  these  means 
would  so  consume  away  by  much  procrastination,  as  to 


340 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


render  it  impracticable  perhaps  during  the  remainder  of  his 
hfe,  he  immediately  concluded,  after  agonizing  prayer  to 
the  Father  of  Lights  to  direct  him,  to  prepare  to  quit  his 
native  land.  A  vessel  having  put  into  the  port  of  Cork  by 
stress  of  weather,  presented  an  opportunity  which  seldom 
occurs  there.  As  the  place  of  her  destination  was  the  re- 
sidence of  my  brother  and  sister  in  America,  we  regarded 
it  as  the  last  preparatory  step  by  which  the  kind  providence 
of  God  had  led  us  on.  Preliminaries  adjusted,  we  bade 
adieu  to  Ireland,  and  to  Europe,  on  the  I2th  of  December, 
1820,  and  arrived  in  New- York  the  17th  of  March  follow- 
ing, having  first  sailed  to  Portugal  to  take  in  cargo.  Our 
numbers  were,  two  sons,  two  daughters,  my  dear  and  only 
parent,  and  a  servant-maid. 

"As  regards  myself,  independent  of  a  father's  com- 
mands, which  were  laid  upon  me,  I  too  regarded  the  con- 
nexion of  preceding  events,  which  transpired  in  my 
ministerial  labours,  as  no  other  than  the  leadings  of  the 
same  God,  who 

*  Plants  his  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm !' 

"  My  public  duties  in  Ireland,  for  the  two  years  previous, 
had  greatly  impaired,  if  not  totally  ruined,  my  health — my 
journal  for  that  period  will  bear  ample  testimony  thereto  ; — 
this,  added  to  the  general  humidity  of  the  country,  rendered 
some  change  necessary,  if  my  hfe  was  to  be  preserved. 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  341 

For  this  purpose,  among  others,  I  visited  England  in  May, 
1820,  and  remained  there  till  after  the  Liverpool  Confe- 
rence in  tlie  July  and  August  following ; — my  hope  wEis, 
that  through  the  interference  of  many  of  the  English 
preachers,  with  whom,  in  the  interval  I  had  become  ac- 
quainted, I  might  be  removed  from  Ireland  to  the  air  of 
my  own  country,  and  that  the  change  would  have  a 
favourable  effect  upon  my  constitution ;  as  also  that  my 
labours  would  be  greatly  reduced, — a  measure  which  my 
situation  at  the  time  imperiously  demanded.  But  notwith- 
standing the  efforts  which  were  made,  and  the  petition  of 
the  Manchester  Society  for  me  to  be  sent  to  them,  the 
Irish  representative,  brother  Tobias,  refused  to  give  con- 
sent to  my  removal,  without  which  consent,  the  British 
Conference  could  do  nothing.  At  the  same  time  knowing 
how  tender  and  affecting  were  the  ties  by  which  I  was 
bound  to  the  scene  of  my  past  labours,  and  my  past  afflic- 
tions too, — he  failed  not  to  use  every  persuasion  with  me  ; 
in  tliis  he  succeeded  too  well, — I  gave  up  my  intention,  and 
returned  to  Ireland,  to  the  city  of  Cork,  where  the  Confe- 
rence of  the  Irish  brethren  had  stationed  me  at  their  pre- 
ceding session  during  my  absence  in  England." 

It  is  a  striking  proof  of  Summerfield's  sincere  devotion 
to  God  and  his  cause,  that  (in  obedience  to  his  father's 
commands,  as  appears  above)  he  cheerfully  accompanied  his 
parent  to  America,  leaving  all  his  prospects  in  Ireland  and 
England  behind,  though  he  had  arrived  at  perilous  popu- 
larity in  the  former,  and  was  most  temptmgly  pressed  to 
2f2 


342 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


settle  in  the  latter  country, — the  fields,  in  which  ambition 
in  the  shape  of  Methodist  preaching,  would  choose  above 
all  the  world  beside,  to  shine,  in  its  own  vain  glory  ; — nay, 
in  which  the  honest  and  conscientious  man  of  gifts  and 
graces,  might  justifiably  deem  that  he  would  be  the  most 
usefully  employed.  This,  then,  was  forsaking  all,  deny- 
ing himself,  and  taking  up  his  cross  to  follow  Christ. 

It  will  have  been  observed  that,  throughout  the  preceding 
pages,  every  allusion  to  Mr.  Summerfield's  father  recog- 
nises him  as  a  professor  of  that  vital  godhness,  which  so 
remarkably  distinguished  his  son.  He  was,  however,  a  man 
of  warm  feelings  and  sanguine  temperament ;  and  these, 
as  I  have  already  intimated,  led  him  frequently  to  miscal- 
culate the  results  of  his  own  upright  intentions,  when  they 
failed  to  accord  with  that  worldly  prudence  which  is  so 
generally,  and  in  most  cases  so  justly  the  parent  of  success 
in  temporal  affairs.  But  that  his  moral  integrity,  or  his 
religious  sincerity,  were  justly  impeachable,  I  have  yet  to 
learn ;  and  therefore,  as  the  biographer  of  the  son,  who 
constantly  blesses  God  for  smcA.  a  father,  and  whose  filial 
obedience  is  one  of  the  brightest  jewels  in  his  crown  of 
holiness,  I  should  hold  myself  utterly  unworthy  of  having 
been  intrusted  with  the  deUneation  of  his  character,  did  I 
not  express  my  conscientious  conviction,  that  the  man 
from  whose  diary  the  following  extracts  are  taken,  is  wor- 
thy of  being  remembered  in  the  parental  relation  with 
liim  to  whom  they  refer  : — 


\ 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


343 


"  May  26th,  1825.  For  the  last  three  daj's  my  mind 
has  been  kept  in  peace,  resting  in  God  according  to  his 
word  ;  though  at  times  awfully  concerned  respecting  John's 
affliction,  which  I  fear  is  unto  death,  and  lest  his  mind 
should  not  be  happy  in  God. — I  was  much  relieved  this 

morning  ;  being  informed  that  brother  W  had  visited 

him,  as  I  had  requested,  and  had  been  a  great  comfort  to 
his  mind.    Thanks  be  to  God  for  this  ! 

"  May  30.  My  mind,  in  general,  has  been  at  rest,  as 
much  as  could  be  expected,  considering  my  dear  John's 
affliction;  he  being  now  upon  the  eve  of  time  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  promising  usefulness.  How  mysterious 
are  the  ways  of  God !  but  he  sees  the  end  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  does  all  things  well. 

"  Dear  Doctor  Baker  and  his  wife  have  come  all  the 
way  from  Baltimore  to  see  my  dear  John  ;  how  kind  their 
hearts  !  God  bless  them,  and  all  his  friends. 

"  June  7th.  There  is  a  prospect  of  Jolm's  recovery, 
consequently  I  am  more  composed — oh,  that  this  severe 
affliction  may  be  sanctified  to  his  good,  and  that  of  all  my 
family — the  Lord  deals  kindly  with  me,  in  my  affliction 
being  made  tolerable. 

"  June  17th.  For  the  last  ten  days,my  mind  has  been  kept 
in  hourly  suspense.  My  dear  John  departed  this  life  on 
Monday,  the  13th  of  June,  and  was  interred  the  next 


344 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


day  beside  his  friend  the  Rev.  W.  Ross. — From  the  ao 
counts  I  have  received,  I  have  every  reason  to  thank  God 
for  his  safe  arrival  in  heaven,  where  I  hope  to  meet  him 
soon,  and  all  my  dear  children  that  are  left  behind :  I 
thank  God  for  giving  me  such  a  son ;  may  his  death 
speak  louder  than  all  his  preaching. — Lord,  prepare  me  to 
follow  him  to  thy  kingdom  !" 

Few  ministers  in  America  ever  attained  a  higher  degree 
of  popularity  than  John  Summerfield  ;  and  no  man  ever 
courted  it  less :  it  commenced  with  his  first  sermon,  and 
continued  to  the  end  of  his  short  life.  It  would  be  worse 
than  affectation  to  insinuate  that  he  was  insensible  to,  or 
even  that  he  undervalued  the  homage  paid  to  his  talents  ; 
but  really  when  we  reflect  upon  his  youth,  it  seems  little 
less  than  a  miracle  that  he  should  have  been  so  wholly 
preserved  from  the  pernicious  influence  of  popular  praise. 
Modesty  and  humility  were  prominent  traits  in  his  cha- 
racter ;  this  was  universally  admitted  :  the  Rev.  W.  Nevins, 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Baltimore,  says  in  a  letter,  "  I 
have  been  astonished  that  in  all  my  intercourse  with  Sum- 
merfield, I  never  heard  any  thing  from  him,  even  by  acci- 
dent, that  savoured  of  vanity  ; — he  was  hterally  clothed 
with  humility, — nor  was  the  garment  scanty.  What  po- 
pular preacher  but  he,  ever  passed  before  the  world,  with- 
out being  at  least  accused  of  affectation  ? — That  he  was,  I 
never  heard." 

He  hked  to  preach  in  a  church  where  there  was  a  vee- 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


345 


tr)',  into  which  he  could  retire  mimediately  after  service ; 
where  that  was  not  the  case,  as  often  happens  in  Americe^ 
he  has  sometimes  felt  it  severely,  and  been  so  discomposed, 
and  dissatisfied  with  himself,  as  to  wish  that  there  was 
a  trap  door  in  the  pulpit  through  which  he  might  escape. 
If  he  attended  the  preacliing  of  others,  he  preferred  an 
obscure  place  among  the  congregation,  as  he  did  not  like 
to  attract  observation.  It  was  a  pleasing  trait  in  his  cha- 
racter, that  he  would  willingly  listen  to  any  advice  that 
might  be  given  by  a  friend — and  some  would  undertake 
to  find  fault  with  little  things  ;  for  instance,  when  he  arri- 
ved in  America,  he  wore  a  gold  seal  to  his  watch,  which  he 
soon  found  was  £in  eyesore  to  some  ;  he  therefore  promptly 
laid  it  aside  ;  and  the  like  of  a  plaid  cloak  which  he  got, 
as  he  would  not,  he  said,  offend  one  of  the  weakest  of  his 
brethren. 

The  preparation  which  he  generally  made  for  the  pulpit 
was  as  foUows :  he  would  draw  a  rough  outUne  of  a  ser- 
mon on  a  sheet  or  half  sheet  of  paper ;  and  after  preaching 
it,  determine  whether  or  not  it  was  worthy  of  being  tran- 
scribed into  his  book  «?/  sermons  ;  if  it  satisfied  him,  he 
would  enter  it  into  his  book  the  next  day.  Many  persons 
would  doubtless  expect  to  meet,  m  a  work  of  this  nature, 
with  some  specimens  of  those  discourses  which  produced 
such  wonderful  effects  :  nor  should  they  have  been  disap- 
pointed, had  it  appeared  that  the  present  writer,  by  copying, 
or  filling  up  one  or  more  of  the  sketches  left  by  the  preacher, 
could  have  done  any  thing  Uke  justice  to  that  extraordinarj'' 
44 


346 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


felicity  with  which  his  own  viva  voce  eloquence  filled  up 
the  prescribed  outline.  Such  an  attempt,  however,  would 
only  exhibit  a  gratuitous  failure ;  indeed,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, the  utmost  fideUty  of  the  pen,  even  of  the  author  him- 
self, would  have  conveyed  as  inadequate  an  idea  of  the 
fascinations  of  his  tongue,  and  the  overflowings  of  his 
hea7't,  as  an  -indifferent  reporter  might  happen  to  do  of 
either.  He  has  indeed  left  one  pubUshed  discourse,  which 
as  little  invaUdates  the  latter,  as  1  fear  the  present  work 
may  the  former  clause  of  the  following  remark : — "  I  almost 
compassionate  the  biographer  of  Summerfield,  however 
great  hie  graphic  talents  may  be,"  says  Mx.  Nevins,  "  for 
I  anticipate  that  the  best  written  memoir  of  him,  will  be  to 
the  liviiig,  speaking,  and  acting  Summerfield,  very  much 
what  his  best  printed  discourse  was  to  the  unwritten  elo- 
quence that  he  used  to  pour  forth  from  his  heart,  in  his 
most  ordinary  sermons — for  the  eloquence  of  our  friend  was 
pre-eminently  that  of  the  heart.  It  was  the  oratory  of 
nature — and  I  have  often  remarked,  that  in  any  age,  in 
any  country,  in  any  language,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, he  would  have  been  the  same  magic  master  of  the 
h\iman  heart,  that  we  felt  him  to  be." 

Let  it  not,  however,  be  hence  inferred  by  any  who  never 
heard  hhn  preach,  that  the  sermons  which  dehghted  and 
edified  such  unprecedentedly  large  congregations,  were 
deficient  in  theological  excellency — quite  the  reverse.  I 
have  before  me  one  of  the  precious  volumes  of  manuscript 
sermons,  above  alluded  to ;  it  is  a  beautiful  autograph  of 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


347 


his  piety  and  industry,  and  many  of  those  happy  combina- 
tions of  thought,  those  luminous  expositions  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel,  and  those  judicious  illustrations  of  the  faith 
and  practice  of  Christianity,  which  formed  the  substrata  of 
his  eloquent  discourses.  But,  however  crowded  and  intel- 
ligible the  contractions  in  the  writing,  it  will  readily  be 
conceived  that  sketches  is  a  proper  epithet  to  designate  a 
collection  of  the  outlines  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-six 
sermons^  comprised  in  seventy-four  post  8vo  pages. 

To  the  question  which  may  naturally  occur  here — what 
then  were  the  predominating  quahties  of  Mr.  Summerfield's 
mmd?  The  answer  ought  unequivocally  to  be,  good 
SENSE,  and  good  taste — quahties  most  rarely  found  in 
combination  with  fervency  of  feehng,  and  a  spontaneous 
eloquence.  To  say  that  he  was  not  a  man  of  genius,  in 
the  true  import  of  the  term,  would  be  to  deny  the  whole 
testimony  of  his  hfe  ;  while  to  assert  that  that  genius  was 
of  the  very  highest  order,  would  be  to  substitute  exaggera- 
tion for  fact.  I  have  before  me  the  follomng  sentence  in 
the  hand-writing  of  Mr.  Montgomery  : — "  Summerfield," 
says  the  poet,  "  had  intense  animal  feeling,  and  much  of 
morbid  imagination  ;  but  of  poetic  feeling  and  poetic  imagi- 
nation, very  little — at  least,  there  is  very  little  trace  of 
either  in  any  thing  that  he  has  left,  beyond  a  few  vivid  but 
momentary  flashes  in  his  sermons." 

His  personal  appearance,  although  not  particularly 
striking  on  ordinary  occasions,  was  allowed  by  universal 


348 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


consent  to  be  extiemely  fascinating  in  the  pulpit.  His 
pountenance,  when  in  tolerable  health,  was  one  of  the 
most  lovely  description,  yet  had  it  at  the  same  time  an  ex- 
pression of  calmness  and  solemnity  not  common  with  one 
so  yoimg.  The  Rev.  J.  Danforth,  a  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter, in  a  generous,  judicious,  and  eloquent  obituary  notice 
of  his  friend,  observes  : — "  But  he  had  his  inspiration  ;  and 
then  it  [his  discourse]  was — not  splendid,  nor  magnificent, 
nor  overpowering — but  simple,  pure,  gentle,  and  heavenly, 
even  to  a  degree  of  sublimity,  and  certainly  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  I  beUeve  is  rarely  connected  with  mortality.  His 
eye,  which,  like  his  countenance,  possessed,  on  your  near 
approach  to  him  for  the  first  time,  nothing  positively 
agreeable,  assumed  a  dark  hue  in  the  pulpit ;  and  as  to 
the  rest  of  his  face,  if  you  wished  to  see  meekness  itself 
embodied  in  human  form,  there  it  was  in  Summerfield,  as 
he  stood  in  the  sacred  desk,  the  messenger  of  the  Lamb  of 
God — in  his  face,  and  attitude,  and  manner — in  every 
.  mile  of  rapture  that  lighted  up,  and  every  shade  of  melan- 
choly that  passed  across  his  features.  He  never  used  notes 
in  the  desk,  and  even  smiled  sometimes  at  the  practice. 
He  was,  however,  systematic,  and  was  continually  inter- 
weaving Scripture,  in  the  most  natural  and  graceful  man- 
ner, with  the  thread  of  his  discourse.  His  mind  seemed  to 
be  stored,  his  very  spirit  to  be  imbued,  with  the  word  of 
God.  It  dwelt  richly  in  him  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual 
understanding.  He  preached  from  fifty  minutes  to  an 
hour— too  long  for  his  feeble  and  wasting  frame." 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMEKFIELD.  349 

It  has  frequently  been  said,  that  no  person  ever  did  s-o 
much  in  the  United  States  towards  destroying  sectarian 
bigotry,  as  Mr.  Summerfield.  Every  sincere  preacher  of 
the  gospel  was  to  him  a  brother ;  and  those  of  almost 
every  denomination  invited  him  in  turn  to  preach  for  them. 
Immediately  on  his  arrival,  on  one  occasion,  at  one  of  the 
principal  cities,  he  was  waited  upon  by  a  number  of  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  to  express  a  de- 
sire that  he  should  preach  in  one  of  their  liouses.  With 
this  request  he  stated  his  wilUngness  to  comply,  provided  the 
consent  of  the  Bishop  could  be  obtained.  The  Bishop  was 
consulted,  but  declined  acquiescing — observing,  that  he 
greatly  regarded  Mr.  Summerfield  as  a  man,  and  esteemed 
him  as  a  minister,  but  that  the  canon  of  the  church  pre- 
vented his  consent,  however  much  he  might  himself  be 
pleased  to  hear  the  young  man  preach.  Being  informed 
of  this,  Mr.  S.  pleasantly  rephed — "  Well,  it  matters  not ; 
but  I  have  always  thought  it  was  usual  to  spike  the  can- 
non in  times  of  peace." 

The  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie,  an 
eminent  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  to  Mr.  Summer- 
field,  is  equally  honourable  to  the  writer  and  the  receiver. 
It  is  dated  Philadelphia,  June  1st,  1822  : — "  Rev.  and  dear 
Sir  :  The  very  powerful  impression  which  the  exercise  of 
your  ministry  ui  this  city  has  made  upon  the  hearts  of 
many  of  your  hearers,  induces  me  thus  to  express  a  most 
ardent  wish  on  their  behalf,  that  you  would  soon  indulge  us 
with  another  visit,  that  you  may  confirm  and  render  indc- 
3g 


350 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


lible  that  happy  effect.  Much  of  the  good  seed  has  fallen 
among  thorns^  and  will,  I  fear,  become  choaked,  and  un- 
fruitful, unless  invigorated  and  nourished  by  your  refresh- 
ing agency.  Your  exertions  among  us,  Sir,  have  been 
blessed  with  great  success  in  awakening  many  sleeping, 
and  £Jarming  many  careless  professors  of  Christianity ; 
and  as  a  brother  labourer,  though  a  very  feeble  one,  in  the 
vineyard  of  our  heavenly  Master,  I  can  no  longer  resist 
addressing  to  you  the  solicitation  given  to  St.  Paul—'  Come 
over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  us' — your  '  heait's  desire 
and  prayer  to  God  for  sinners,  is,  that  they  may  be  saved, 
and  as  the  talents  intrusted  to  you  have  been  happily  im- 
proved among  us,  I  trust  that  you  Avill  be  permitted  by 
divine  providence  to  establish  the  good  work  which  you 
have  begun,  and  carry  it  on  to  perfection.  Your  sincerity 
and  zeal  as  a  Christian,  and  your  urbanity  as  a  gentleman, 
will,  I  am  confident,  induce  you  to  pardon  this  intrusion 
upon  your  time  and  attention.  As  it  is  generally  known 
I  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  being  acquainted  vnih  you,  I  am 
frequently  asked,  when  uill  Mr.  Summerfield  favour  us 
with  another  visit?  How,  my  good  Sir,  shall  I  answer 
this  question  ?  With  unfeigned  respect  and  esteem,  I  am, 
Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother  in 
Christ,  James  Abercrombie." 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  introduce  an  anecdote, 
which  has  frequently  been  repeated,  from  versions  more  or 
less  correct.  It  is  substantially  as  follows :  While  Mr. 
Summerfield  was  lying  in  bed,  durmg  one  of  his  illnesses, 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


351 


he  was  visited  by  two  highly  respectable  clergymen,  one  of 
whom,  commiserating  his  early  subjection  to  such  extreme 
suffering  in  consequence  of  his  ministerial  labours,  inquired, 
"  how  old  are  you  !"  To  the  astonishment  of  the  divine, 
the  suffering  saint  rephed — "I  was  born  at  Preston,  in 
England,  in  1798,  and  born  again  at  Dublin,  in  Ireland, 
in  1817."  The  visiter  expressed  at  once  his  surprise  and 
curiosity,  at  what  to  him  was  so  strange  a  declaration. 
Mr.  Summerfield,  no  less  excited,  with  great  propriety,  ex- 
claimed in  the  language  of  Jesus  to  Nicodemus,  "  Art  thou 
a  master  in  Israel,  and  knowest  not  these  things'?"  and 
then  related  to  them  the  history  of  his  own  conversion. 
The  sequel  is  gratifying :  The  reverend  gentleman,  after 
departing,  inquired  of  his  clerical  companion  whether  or 
not  he  knew  any  thing  about  this  strange  doctrine,  and 
finding  that  he  too  was  a  subject  of  the  same  happy 
change,  set  himself  to  obtain  the  like  blessing,  with  a  sin- 
cerity and  success  of  which  his  subsequent  ministrations 
bore  satisfactory  testimony. 

Summerfield  was  commendably  particular  with  regard 
to  his  person  ;  plain,  but  remarkably  neat ;  indeed,  care- 
lessness in  any  respect  did  not  belong  to  him — he  equally 
disliked  slovenliness  and  finery  in  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
justly  holding  that  every  thing  ought  to  correspond  with  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  his  oflice. 

In  private  hfe  he  was  as  much  beloved,  as  he  was  ad- 
mired in  his  public  character.  "  There  was,"  says  a  minis- 


352 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


terial  friend,  "something  unearthly  about  the  man — anc 
yet  he  was  a  man,  and  as  afiable  and  condescending,  as  if 
to  use  his  own  expression,  he  was  '  the  servant  of  all.'  An] 
one  who  was  disposed  to  complain  of  his  being  too  mucl 
the  subject  of  conversation,  (justly  or  unjustly,)  or  of  hi 
being  a  youth  unworthy  of  such  premature  celebrity,  forgo 
it  all  after'  sitting  down  a  few  minutes  in  his  company. 
There  was  something  so  endearing  and  truly  affectionat 
in  his  manners,  that  it  was  no  wonder  his  company  wa 
courted  by  all  ranks. 

In  conversation,  he  was  chaste,  lively,  and  sometime 
facetious  ;  proUfic  of  anecdotes  and  remarks  of  a  rebgiou 
tendency.  He  had,  in  astonishing  perfection,  the  faculty  o1 
remembering  names ;  it  mattered  not  how  large  a  famil; 
he  might  visit,  should  there  be  a  dozen  cliildren,  he  wouli 
inquire  the  names  of  each,  and  would  ever  afterward  re 
member  them  by  nam,e,  even  to  the  servants. 

Mr.  Summerfield,  us  before  noticed,  was  fond  of  preach 
ing  to  children,  and  in  these  services  his  manner  was  pecu 
liarly  engaging.  It  was  a  delightful  scene,  to  witness  hi 
appearance  on  these  occasions  :  himself  like  a  boy  amonj 
his  juniors,  leaning  gracefully  over  the  pulpit,  in  a  manne 
best  comporting  with  the  familiar  and  affectionate  style  of 
his  address — his  juvenile  auditory  occupying  the  body  of 
the  church,  and  listening  with  the  most  steady  attention  t< 
their  ingenuous  teacher.  Occasionally  he  put  questions  t< 
them,  and  would  encourage  oral  answers,  and  tell  then 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD.  353 

what  his  next  subject  would  be,  that  they  might  be  pre- 
pared to  reply  to  his  interrogatories.  His  scope  and  illus- 
trations, were  sometimes  so  happily  appropriate,  that  the 
children  would  remember  nearly  a  whole  sermon.  After 
enforcing  most  sweetly,  on  one  occasion,  the  text — "  They 
that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me,"  he  said — "  are  there 
any  of  my  dear  httle  hearers  who  will  pledge  themselves 
to  meet  me  to-morrow  morning  at  the  throne  of  grace  ?" — 
several  immediately  replied,  "  I  will."  He  endeavoured  to 
excite  a  missionary  spirit  in  the  children,  and  introduced 
among  them  the  "  'Tis  But"  box,  that  they  might  save  a 
few  cents  for  so  good  a  cause.  In  1822,  he  wrote  an  in- 
genious juvenile  speech,  which  was  delivered  by  an  interest- 
ing boy,  eleven  years  of  age,  proposing  a  missionary  resolu- 
tion, (which  Mr.  Summerfield  himself  seconded,)  the  litfln 
fellow  presenting  at  the  same  time,  as  the  representative  of 
the  other  children,  the  sum  of  four  hundi  ed  and  ten  dollars. 

In  his  love  of  children,  he  resembled  Mr.  Wesley  :  it 
was  pleasing,  on  some  occasions,  to  see  the  little  ones 
crowd  about  the  altar,  before  leaving  church,  each  anxious 
to  be  noticed  by  him.  He  would  sometimes  from  the  pul- 
pit invite  them  to  call  upon  him  at  his  lodgings,  to  which 
they  repaired  in  groups,  when  he  would  leave  his  study 
and  spend  some  time  famiharly  with  them.  Children 
from  all  parts  of  the  city,  would  bring  their  little  Hymn 
books,  for  him  to  insert  their  names,  which  he  usually  did, 
accompanied  with  some  suitable  remark  or  motto.  Among 
2  G  2  45 


354 


MEMOIRS  OP  THE 


the  numerous  instances  of  his  attention  to  the  lambs  oi 
Christ's  flock,  occurs  the  following  : — a  boy,  about  eleven 
years  of  age,  after  one  of  the  sermons  to  children^  remain- 
ed till  the  congregation  had  nearly  dispersed,  when  he 
attracted  Mr.  Summerfield's  notice ;  stepping  forward,  he 
said,  "  my  little  boy,  do  you  want  any  thing  with  me  ?" — 
he  appeared  overcome  with  his  feelings,  and  could  only 
say  "  Mr.  Summerfield" — "  Well,  my  love,  what  do  you 
want  with  Mr.  Summerfield  ?"  the  boy,  encouraged,  said 
he  wished  Mr.  Summerfield  would  call  at  his  mother's :  on 
inquiring  where  his  mother  lived,  the  name  of  the  street, 
and  the  number  of  the  house,  were  given.  "  What  is  your 
name  ?" — "  John  Brown,"  replied  the  boy  :  "  Well,  Joh)i 
Bi'own,  to-morrow,  at  11  o'clock,  I  shall  pay  you  a  visit." 
Accordingly,  at  the  time  appointed,  Mr.  Summerfield 
waited  upon  him  ;  he  found  John  busily  employed  sweep- 
ing and  fixing  the  fire,  and  preparing  for  his  visiter. 
"  Well,  John,  here  I  am,  accoi  ding  to  my  appointment." — 
John  requested  him  to  take  a  seat  until  he  had  found  his 
mother — she  was  a  pious  woman,  and  said  that  her  son 
had  heard  him  preach,  whenever  he  had  addressed  the 
children,  and  that  his  naind  had  been  much  impressed  in 
consequence.  Mr.  Summerfield  knelt  down  and  prayed 
with  them  ;  and  before  he  went  away,  encomaged  John, 
and  gave  him  some  good  advice ;  entered  his  name  on  the 
list  of  those  for  whom  he  felt  a  peculiar  interest,  and  told 
him  that  he  should  keep  his  eye  upon  him ;  requesting 
him  to  come  and  speak  to  him  whenever  he  had  an  oppor- 


REV,  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


356 


tuiiity,  that  he  might  ascertain  what  progress  his  little 
friend  John  Brown  was  making.  Carping  criticism,  or 
cold  philosophy,  may  despise  these  little  traits,  but  minis- 
terial wisdom  will  not. 

After  Mr.  Summerfield's  severe  illness  in  Philadelphia, 
ill  1822,  when  he  had  just  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able 
to  ride  out,  he  stopped  to  visit  a  pious  presbyterian  lady, 
who,  like  liimself,  had  been  on  the  threshold  of  eternity. 
In  the  course  of  conversation,  she  inquired — -  Mr.  Sum- 
merfield,  what  were  your  peculiar  views  and  feeUngs  at 
that  solemn  moment,  which  it  was  thought  would  be  yoiu 
last  ?" — Mr.  Summerfield  said  that  he  felt  an  indescribable 
peace,  subduing  peace — "  If  (continued  he)  I  had  at  that 
moment  given  utterance,  it  would  have  been  peace  !  peace .' 
— I  felt  as  though  the  spirit  were  waiting  for  the  word 
'  come' — as  though  it  were  soaring  !  I  looked  back  upon 
the  earth,  and  I  discovered  that  there  were  two  slender  cords 
which  held  me — the  church  and  my  family — but  I  felt  that 
even  these  could  give  way."  After  a  pause,  he  added, 
"  perhaps  it  may  be  thought  strange,  but  I  have  never 
desired  that  mine  should  be  the  triximphant  end;  singular 
to  say,  I  have  ever  coveted  the  end  of  peace — peace — 
peace .'" — 

Before  he  left  Baltimore  the  last  time,  and  but  a  few 
weeks  previous  to  his  death,  Mr.  Summerfield  was  waited 
upon  by  a  committee  of  ladies  from  the  Orj^an  Asylum, 


356 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE 


requesting  him  to  plead  the  cause  of  their  institution.  He 
informed  them  that  the  state  of  his  health  was  such  as 
to  preclude  him  from  many  duties  cormected  with,  his 
own  church  ;  at  the  same  time  expressing  much  regret  at 
not  being  able  to  comply  with  their  earnest  solicitation. 
One  of  the  ladies  thereupon  said — "  Mr.  Summerfield, 
promise  that  on  your  return  from  New- York,  in  the  course 
of  the  spring,  you  will  suffer  us  to  have  a  claim  on  you  ?" 
— raising  his  eyes  heavenward,  and  clasping  his  hands — 
he  replied,  "  before  that  time,  I  expect  to  be  in  glory." 
This  remark  produced  an  electrifying  shock  upon  the 
minds  of  his  friends  in  Baltimore :  and  has  often  been 
adverted  to  since  his  death,  as  appearing  somewhat  pro- 
phetical. 

It  may  justly  be  a  subject  of  gratitude  with  his  friends, 
and  with  the  members  of  that  chmch,  with  which  he  was 
more  especially  connected,  that  short  as  was  the  life,  and 
interrupted  the  ministerial  career  of  this  ardent  champion 
of  the  cross,  that  he  not  only  left — but  in  no  sUght  degree 
contributed,  to  make  America  better  than  he  found  it. 
His  last  appearance  and  efforts  in  public,  were,  as  aheady 
stated,  to  witness,  and  with  his  brother  ministers,  to  cele- 
brate, one  of  the  triumphs  of  Christian  charity,  which  it 
had  ever  been  his  aim  to  promote.  At  the  first  public 
meeting  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  he  was  present— 
though  on  the  verge  of  the  grave, — to  present  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  he  had  himself  drawn  up : — "  That 


REV.  JOHN  SUMMERFIELD. 


357 


as  all  permanent  good  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of 
lights,  we  do  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer  for  his 
blessing  on  this  institution,  and  do  urge  it  upon  all  the  lovers 
of  our  Zion,  to  aid  us  herein  by  their  devout  suppUca- 
tions."  This  resolution  he  advocated  in  a  strain  of  pious 
feiToiu-,  which  well  became  one  who  was  so  soon  to  join 
in  the  songs  of  the  blessed.  "  Hume,  Voltaire,  Paine,  and 
other  infidels,"  said  he,  "  have  predicted  the  downfall  of 
Christianity.  I  would  they  could  be  present  to  witness  the 
exercises  of  this  day,  and  the  growing  prosperity  of  the 
rehgion  which  they  affected  to  contemn  and  despise — I 
would  they  could  see  the  triiunphs  of  the  cross,  and  par- 
take of  the  blessings  which  they  shghted."  He  declared, 
that  of  all  the  anniversaries  of  benevolent  institutions, 
which  he  had  attended,  in  Europe,  in  Canada,  and  in  the 
United  States,  there  was  not  one  in  which  he  had  seen  a 
spirit  of  brotherly  love,  and  christian  affection  among  dif- 
ferent denominations,  more  manifest.  This  he  felt  was 
to  be  attributed  to  the  presence  of  a  divine  influence.  His 
own  sense  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and  the  spectacle  he 
then  witnessed,  affected  him  to  tears  agam  and  again 
during  the  course  of  the  meeting,  for  he  felt  that  the 
spirit  and  atmosphere  of  heaven  fiUed  the  room  :  but  he 
looked  so  pale,  so  cadaverous  and  emaciated,  that  his 
friends  could  hardly  suppress  a  tear  at  his  appearance.  He 
had  finished  his  course ;  and  providence,  as  if  to  render 
more  affecting  the  completion  of  the  circle  of  his  minis- 
terial labours,  so  ordered,  that  his  last  faltermg  accents  in 


358  MEMOIRS,  &C. 

public,  should  be  heard  in  the  very  same  room,  in  which 
a  few  years  before  he  had  first  publicly  opened  his  hps 
in  his  adopted  country,  when,  in  the  Bible  Society,  he  held 
the  audience  in  rapt  surprise,  astonishment,  and  admira- 
lion. 


THE  END. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I. 

Mr.  Summerfield's  parentage,  birth,  and  education — goes  to  reside  at  Liver- 
pool— a  remarkable  dream.  15 

SECTION  n. 

Removal  to  Dublin — falls  into  dissipated  habits— occasional  contrition — cor- 
respondence with  Dr.  Raffles — thinks  of  entering  the  ministry  among  the 
dissenters — goes  into  business — afresh  irregidarities — attends  the  courts  of 
law  28 

SECTION  III. 

His  conversion — attends  prayer  meetings — verses  to  the  Rev.  P.  and  Mrs. 

French — interesting  letter  to  his  class-leader  42 

SECTION  IV. 

Begins  to  keep  a  diary — attends  Sunday  Schools — gives  an  exhortation — 
incessantly  studies  the  holy  scriptures — attends  an  Irish  vsrake — fiUal  obe- 
dience— falls  into  temptation  61 

SECTION  V. 

Studies  incessantly — thinks  about  the  Christian  ministry — health  very  deli- 
ligious  experience — ardent  piety— dreams.       ...  74 
SECTION  VI. 

Received  as  a  Local  Preacher — attention  to  domestic  duties — visits  for  the 
"  Stranger's  Friend  Society" — anxieties  about  his  ministerial  call — over- 
taken with  a  fault — excessive  fasting — removal  to  Cork — entire  devoted- 

ncss  to  God  88 

SECTION  VIL 

ontroversy  about  the  Sacrament — the  Clones'  party— Summerficid  becomes 
a  popular  preacher — preaches  almost  incessantly — ministerial  anxieties — 
travels  and  addresses  large  auditories  in  Ireland  with  great  success.  HI 
SECTION  VIIL 

letums  to  Dublin — popularity  increases — dedicates  himself  afresh  to  God — 
visits  Cork — his  fervour — polemical  discussion — falls  from  his  horse — 
abundance  of  his  labours — receives  a  conference  appointment — Missionary 
speech  128 


360 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  IX. 

Religious  experience— resolves  to  avoid  tea  parties— preaches  at  the  request 
of  the  Earl  of  Rosse — a  dangerous  illness — resumes  his  labours,  and  ad- 
dresses large  congregations— exercises  of  spirit — loyalty — anxious  to  visit 

England.   151 

SECTION  X. 

Anives  in  England,  and  preaches  at  Bristol— Exeter — attends  conference  at 
Liverpool— entertains  thoughts  of  going  to  America — embarks  for  New- 
York  170 

SECTION  XI. 

Methodism  in  America — Summerfield  arrives  at  New-York — eloquent 
speech — stationed  at  New- York — speech— unprecedented  popularity — 
addresses  children — letters — newspaper  notices — immense  audiences  at 
Washington — preaches  in  front  of  the  capitol — affection  of  his  friends — 

affecting  sermon  ISl 

SECTION  XII. 

Ordained  Deacon — violent  illness — dictates  a  testamentary  paper — recovers 
slowly — public  anxiety — letters — episcopal  certificate  to  travel — visits 

New-Jersey— created  Master  of  Arts — letter  208 

SECTION  XIII. 

Sails  for  Prance — interesting  letters  from  Marseilles.      ..."  226 
SECTION  XIV. 

Writes  to  the  Young  Men's  Missionary  Society — Paris — speech  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Protestant  Bible  Society  of  Prance — reply  of  Mons.  Billings — 

letters  262 

SECTION  XV. 

Arrives  in  England — Fairfield — preaches  at  Liverpool — letters — attends  the 
conference  at  Sheffield — visits  many  other  places — his  health  but  httle  im- 
proved— letters.  275 

SECTION  XVL 

Returns  to  America — attends  the  Baltimore  conference — ordained  an  Elder 
— appointed  a  missionary  within  the  bounds  of  Baltimore  conference — 
extracts  from  diary — mission  to  the  Wyandott  Indians — at  Baltimore  in 

extreme  debility  292 

SECTION  XVII. 

Extracts  from  diary — letters — returns  to  New- York — last  illness — death-bed 
expressions — dies  in  the  Lord — public  sympathy — funeral — monumental 

inscriptions  310 

SECTION  xvin. 

General  concluding  observations,  337 


illiiiiillH 


